The Demonic Medic
by Alky Uchiha93
Summary: Naruto was brutalised one too many times, losing an eye in the process before an ANBU saved him. Along with his other actions, this ANBU took Naruto from Konoha to place him in the care of one of the few people he knew that would truly look after Naruto; Tsunade Senju. Watch as Naruto returns to Konoha and becomes a ninja medic; Naruto Senju: user of Shisui Uchiha's Sharingan
1. Chapter 1

The Demonic Medic

_Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any other pre-existing characters or themes I have used to write what is my story._

Summary: Naruto Uzumaki was brutalised one too many times, losing an eye in the process before an ANBU saved him. Along with his other actions, this ANBU took Naruto from Konohagakure to place him in the care of one of the few people he knew that would truly look after Naruto; Tsunade Senju. Watch as Naruto returns to Konoha and becomes a ninja medic; Naruto Senju: user of Shisui Uchiha's Sharingan.

Chapter One: The beginning of Naruto Senju.

*CRACK*

"AAAAHHHH!" a young child screamed in pain as his kneecap was snapped.

The drunken civilian lifted his boot from the boy's leg with a grin, "Come on demon! Fight back! Give me the satisfaction of killing you!" he shouted before raising his leg again, kicking the blonde boy in the chest.

The small child slid across the ground in pain, his back hitting the wall of the alleyway painfully as his head started bleeding from the impact.

The drunkard took a step closer before the moonlight cast a shadow over him. He looked up to see two ninjas on the rooftops above his head, "Shit!" he said before turning and running away.

The two ninjas dropped down, showing a scowl as they looked at the whimpering child, "Pathetic, to think this is the thing that killed so many of our comrades." The taller one said as he squatted down and lifted the boy into a sitting position by his hair.

The moonlight hitting the tears on his face, the other ninja nodded, "Naruto Uzumaki… I hate that we have to stop them from repaying him." He agreed as they looked down at the small blonde in disgust.

The first ninja glanced up at his comrade before looking around, seeing that there was nobody around, "What I don't get is where the hell his protection is, ain't he meant to have an ANBU looking after him at all times?" the first ninja asked his friend as he let go of Naruto, beginning to feel outwards with his chakra to sense any nearby ANBU.

The second ninja nodded before looking down at Naruto, who began to have some clarity in his eyes as he looked up at them, "Hm, the kids starting to focus." He said as the first ninja finished his scan.

"His protection ain't here." The first ninja said as he glanced at his comrade, making eye contact with him as they shared a slightly dark smirk.

The blonde boy looked up through the blood and tears that streaked down his face, "N-n-ninja-s-san?" he requested softly.

The second ninja pulled out a kunai, "Looks like we arrived just in time to witness some drunk civilian cutting up the Demon." He said.

The first ninja turned to Naruto and threw a few shuriken, embedding them in his stomach and arm as the boy shouted weakly in pain, "Ahak!" Naruto coughed as he fell down to his side again.

The first ninja began to form a Genjutsu around the area as the second ninja took the few steps towards Naruto and grabbed the boy by the collar of his shirt, slamming him into the wall with one hand as he pulled back his kunai.

##########

Itachi dropped to the roof of a nearby building and fell to his knees, 'Kaa-san..Tou-san…I'm so sorry.' Itachi thought as tears fell from his eyes.

He glanced over his shoulder as he remembered knocking out his younger brother, 'And you Sasuke, you've seen so much blood on this night. I'm so, so sorry.' He thought as he pulled himself to his shaky feet, taking deep breaths to try and calm his emotions.

Not a second later, a chakra signature moved over him, 'Genjutsu? In the carnival district?' Itachi asked himself as he looked to his side, activating his Sharingan as he looked around.

Taking a few steps, Itachi looked down into the alleyway to see Naruto Uzumaki, his charge, be slammed into the wall.

His eyes widened as time seemed to slow down, the Chunnin's kunai moving towards Naruto's head, 'No! I refuse to let any more innocent blood be spilt tonight! Not if I can stop it!' Itachi thought as he dove down towards the attacker.

##########

Naruto's eyes came in to focus as he watched the kunai moving towards his eye, 'I'm...done.' Naruto said as the blade stabbed into his eye.

Just as the blade stabbed through to the anterior chamber of his left eye, a black blur slammed into the ninja attacking him, ripping the kunai away and pulling not only his eye with it, but a slice of flesh from Naruto's nose, causing the blonde boy to fall back to the ground, screaming once more in pain.

Itachi's elbow slammed the ninja's head into the wall, knocking him out in the simple movement before he turned towards the ninja casting the Genjutsu, who only was just beginning to turn towards him anyway, 'Unforgivable!' Itachi thought as he channelled all of his anger and sadness from the night into a single fist.

Itachi charged at nearly untraceable speed towards the ninja, punching the back of his head with nothing but pure emotion. The ninja shot out of the alleyway, slamming through the glass window of a shop across the street.

Itachi turned back to Naruto, his head clearer as he went into 'mission mode', 'Punctured lung and stomach, blade to his arm but not lethal. Both knees broken, right wrist broken…and his eye…' Itachi thought as he looked over Naruto, his mind racing to find a way to heal the boy.

In seven seconds, he had all the information that he needed in his head.

'The minor medical Ninjutsu I have can keep him alive for some time up to four hours. I cannot be seen in the village as of five minutes ago. The hospital in the village will gladly let him die. I need a better medic outside the village…..Tsunade Senju is currently leaving the village on her way to Tsunbaki Town, that is three hours away and she left four hours ago. I need to get him to Tsunbaki and then find her. I have three hours and fifty nine minutes left.' His brain told him as it gave him all the information that ANBU had on Tsunade's current location.

Before another thought crossed his mind, Itachi was sprinting through the village, healing at first the minor wounds to ensure Naruto had enough blood to stay alive.

Naruto wheezed once more in pain as he looked up to Itachi's face, 'Weasel-san…' he thought before passing out.

##########

Two hours and forty one minutes later, Itachi slid to a stop atop the tallest building in Tsunbaki town, 'Chakra signatures.' He thought as he blinked on his Sharingan, breathing heavily as he was running low on chakra.

Looking around the town, he could only see three developed chakra signatures, but they were all in different sections of the village.

He placed Naruto down on the rooftop softly before forming a single hand seal, "SHADOW CLONE JUTSU!" he announced as he summoned three shadow clones, bringing his chakra level down to the last tenth of his reserves as they sprinted off towards each ninja while Itachi popped a Soldier pill.

Itachi deactivated his Sharingan as he looked down at Naruto, activating the simple medical jutsu as he focussed on the wrist wound, having already healed his arm and knees to the best of his ability, 'Not long now, hold on Naruto.' Itachi thought as he felt the bones begin to move into place, albeit much slower than he thought they would.

Itachi blinked as the thoughts of his first clone sunk into his head, 'Not her, but her assistant, that's good. Shizune-chan's coming this way.' He thought as the last thought was of Shizune looking up towards the building he was on with a frightened look.

The second clone was destroyed, giving it's memories to Itachi, 'Damn, a hunter ninja so soon?' he thought as the last thought was of Tsume Inuzuka drilling into the clone's chest.

Just as the third clone's memories were received, Shizune landed on the rooftop, "Itachi-kun?! What's going on?!" she shouted as she came to a stop.

Looking up, Itachi spoke for the first time since he taunted Sasuke, his throat course and dry from his night so far, "Help him, please." He begged, taking a deep breath between his words.

Shizune felt her heart break at the pain in his voice, but she indeed took his words seriously, in a few moments she had gone over each of the wounds Itachi had healed, fixing them slightly before she moved onto his torso and eye, "These wounds are too much Itachi-kun, I might be able to fix his stomach but I have no idea what to do for his lungs and eye." She admitted as she looked at him sadly.

Itachi slumped almost in defeat before hearing another set of footsteps hit the roof before suddenly Itachi was pushed out of the way.

He turned back to see Tsunade's green glowing hand over the two holes on Naruto's stomach, "Itachi, if you want me to put an eye in here I need it now." She said as the shuriken popped out of Naruto's chest.

Itachi was silent before he remembered something he had. Itachi formed a hand seal, summoning a black crow that landed on Naruto's shin, "Thank you, but I need it back now." Itachi said to the crow.

The crow nodded before it seemed to fall into feathers, leaving nothing but an eye in Itachi's outstretched hand.

Tsunade glanced over and her eyes widened, "What? A Sharingan?" she asked as Naruto's torso wounds closed up and she moved up to his eye, tilting his head to the side to let the blood clear out from the wound.

Itachi nodded, 'Naruto…you owe me one for saving your life.' Itachi thought before holding the eye to Tsunade, 'Please, keep my brother in line, save him from the torment I have forced upon him.' Itachi thought as he spoke shakily, "Yes, please help him." Itachi said, his voice becoming stronger as the Soldier pill began to kick in while she took the eye.

Feeling the approaching chakra signatures, Itachi stood and turned, "Don't say anything please, just save him." Itachi said as he pulled out his sword.

Not a moment later, Tsume Inuzuka and three masked hunter nins landed on the roof, "Itachi Uchiha! Come with us or you will be killed on sight!" Tsume shouted.

Tsunade kept her focus on healing Naruto as Shizune looked on confused.

Itachi's face took a blank expression as he began walking towards the Hunter squad, "My name is Itachi Uchiha, I killed my clan and tried to take Naruto Uzumaki. I wanted his demon's power to grow ever stronger." He said as he held his sword high, "But now he's dead. And so will you be." He said before charging forward.

The hunter squad moved into position to try and capture Itachi just as Tsume led the attack, "GATSUUGA!" she and Kuromaru shouted, attacking Itachi in a cyclone of claws and fangs.

Itachi's Sharingan sparked to life as he timed his movements perfectly, moving between the two and landing a shallow cut along Tsume's spine, taking a glancing hit to the back thanks to Kuromaru.

The group of ninjas paused as Tsume fell out of her attack, giving Itachi the needed opening to escape.

He glanced back, making eye contact with Tsunade and Shizune, both of whom were confused but focussed as he tried to make them hear his thoughts, 'Please, look after Naruto.' He thought before leaping off of the building.

One of the ninjas threw a handful of shuriken at Itachi, but as they hit him, the Uchiha man turned into a murder of crows, spreading out and disappearing into the night.

Tsume glanced up, "After him!" she shouted as she got to her feet, glancing back at Tsunade and Shizune, "Are you two ok?" she asked, not recognising them in the night light.

Tsunade nodded before looking down, "Just get the bastard who hurt this poor boy!" she shouted.

Tsume scoffed at being ordered by a 'civilian' before she chased after her team and after Itachi.

The rooftop was silent as Tsunade continued her surgery, implanting the Sharingan Itachi gave her into the empty socket of Naruto's eye. Shizune merely sat in silence, confused and hurt by the actions that had taken place.

It was nearly sunrise when Tsunade finally leant away from Naruto, "So this boy's name is Naruto Uzumaki." Tsunade said as she looked down at his closed eyes, "The boy with the Nine-tails and now a Sharingan…" she said before standing and turning away, "Let's go Shizune." She said before beginning to walk towards the side of the roof.

Shizune looked after her master in shock before looking down at Naruto, "I-I'm not leaving him." Shizune said before picking Naruto up in her arms, holding his small six year old body against her own like he was but a toddler.

Tsunade glanced over her shoulder, 'I wanted to distance myself from that damn village…but I guess she's right. I can't let a kid fend for himself out here…' Tsunade thought before looking away, "Fine, let's get a move on Shizune." She said before dropping off of the rooftop.

Shizune adjusted Naruto until he was on her back in a piggy back position, "Don't worry Naruto-chan, I won't let Itachi-kun's sacrifice go to waste." She said as she held him tight and began to follow after her master.

##########

"FIRE STYLE: GRAND FIREBALL JUTSU!" Itachi shouted as his attack hit the water of the river he leapt over.

The water was instantly superheated, raising a burning steam that would bring any person to an incapacitated state while covering their view of him, forcing his pursuers to stop less they be boiled by the heat.

Itachi quickly formed a few hand seals, using the very last of his extra reserves of chakra to make a Ninjutsu, "EARTH STYLE: HIDING LIKE A MOLE TECHNIQUE!" he said to himself before he disappeared into the ground.

Itachi closed his eyes and sat still as he rested, feeling through the earth his pursuers run right past his location and continue running a few minutes later, 'Now… I have time to rest.' He thought to himself as he took a deep breath, glancing up to the tiny airhole above him as the sunlight began to hit it, 'Sasuke…Naruto…be safe, both of you.' Itachi thought before closing his eyes once more and relaxing.

##########

_Two days later…_

##########

The midday sun danced across Naruto's locks as he began to stir. He slowly opened his eyes as he looked around in a daze, 'Am I…alive?' he thought weakly before reaching his hand up to his eye, his last memory being the pain he felt as it was ripped out.

Feeling a bandage over it he sighed, 'Hospital?' he thought as his other eye began to clear up, seeing a blurry shape sitting next to his bed.

He took a few minutes, but as Naruto sat up, he reached out and placed a hand on the sleeping woman's shoulder, "E-excuse me." Naruto said in a soft yet rough voice, "Miss?" he asked nervously as he shook her shoulder slightly.

Shizune stirred slowly, looking up to see Naruto awake. The moment the realisation registered, she shot to her feet, "Naruto-chan!" she exclaimed before fussing over him like a sibling or parent.

Naruto just sat silently in shock as Shizune hugged and looked over his body, confused and feeling drained after… whatever happened.

Naruto began to come out of his shock before he pushed Shizune off of him, "Where am I? Who are you?" he asked, feeling scared.

Shizune realised she may have been overwhelming the boy, so she leant back as she answered his questions, "We're in a hotel room in Tsunbaki town Naruto. My name is Shizune Namikaze. Do you remember how you got here?" she asked softly.

Naruto shook his head, "I-I remember being um… hurt." He said, resting his hand on his stomach, finding that there wasn't a single scratch on him.

Shizune nodded, "A friend of mine brought you to me and my master so that we could heal you. You're fine now, but there has been a small change to your body. Mainly your eye." Shizune said, gesturing to her own left eye.

Naruto reached up and placed a hand over the bandages, remembering a ghost of the pain he felt as it was ripped from his skull, "So, I still got two eyes?" he asked, relaxing a bit more as he was beginning to feel more comfortable around Shizune.

Shizune smiled softly and nodded, "Yep, do you want to come with me to get some breakfast? Tsunade-sama went to the Hidden Leaf Village last night to see what exactly caused all of this and she said she'll be back some time around lunch today." Shizune asked.

Naruto felt a rumble in his stomach, "Thanks but I don't think they'll get me anything." He said softly before looking to the side.

"Naruto, we're not in Konoha any more. These people have no idea who you are," Shizune said as she stood, holding her hand out to the young child, "Trust me, we'll be able to have a meal in peace." She said with a kind smile.

Naruto was quiet for a moment before taking Shizune's hand. Smiling brightly at the human contact as the brunette led him out of the room and through the hotel, his smile didn't dim at all as the two of them walked through the small town peacefully.

##########

Tsunade stormed out of the village, shoving a random Konoha Jonin out of her way as she marched from the gates with anger flowing through her veins, 'I never should have trusted this stupid village.' She thought as she began to tree-hop back to her niece-in-law and Naruto, her mind sinking back into thought over what she had heard during the meeting.

_Flashback_

_Tsunade had arrived in the village just as the Shinobi council came out of session. As they were all leaving the chambers, Tsunade concealed herself in the shadows so that she could wait for the Third Hokage. But after everyone had left and five minutes had passed, Tsunade was left scowling as the Old Man never came out._

_Tsunade stepped into view before opening the chambers, ready to shout out to the old man until she saw him._

_He lay with his face down on the desk of the Hokage's seat, his hat discarded to the floor as he sobbed silently, his shaking breath being the only sound echoing around the room._

_Tsunade walked towards him, the clacking of her heels causing him to look up before he cleared his throat, ignoring the tears that flowed from his eyes as he tried to talk calmly, "Tsunade, you're back here again so soon?" he asked._

_The Senju woman merely ignored him as she leapt over the first two rows of tables to land on the one next to him, "Yeah, why are you crying Sarutobi-sensei?" Tsunade asked with a worried frown._

_The Third Hokage tried to hold his emotions back as he spoke, "Minato trusted me to look after his son and the boy… I've been informed that Itachi killed him after the massacre." He said before looking down, "Why would he do that? Naruto had nothing to do with…" he said before trailing off and shaking his head as more tears began to flow from his eyes._

_Tsunade raised a brow, "The kid isn't dead. Itachi brought him to Shizune and I as we split up for dinner the other night." Tsunade said simply._

_Hiruzen looked up at her with wide hopeful eyes, his gaze shaking as his mind worked at full speed. Tsunade had no idea how he had even come to the idea, but his next words seemed as sure as can be, "Tsunade-chan, I need you to keep this a secret, keep him out of the village." Hiruzen said as he stood._

_Tsunade raised a brow, "Huh? I thought you'd want him back? This is his home after all." She asked as the Third was wiping the tears from his face._

_He shook his head as he pulled his arm back to his side, "This village was a hell for him, I always thought that the people here would forget their sorrows, I never thought they would blame him for it but seeing as Itachi sought to bring him to you…he always knew what was right." Hiruzen said as he looked down at his Kage robes, "It should be Itachi in these, not me." He said._

_Tsunade gasped at the old man's words, 'He believes in Itachi that much?' she thought as Hiruzen bowed low._

"_Tsunade, please care for Naruto, bring him back when he's strong enough to protect himself but until then, please make sure he's safe." He begged her, tears of shame falling from his eyes and onto the floor._

_Just then, the two heard the door moving as it slowly opened. So Tsunade stepped up to her old sensei and hugged him tightly, whispering in his ear to keep their conversation secret, "Yes okay? I'll do it. I'll try to bring him back at some time, you know how to contact me." She said softly._

"_Umm, Hokage-sama?" the Chunnin asked._

_Tsunade stepped back from the Hokage who hid his tear stricken face by kneeling and dusting off his hat, "Yes Kurenai?" he replied._

_The Chunnin stepped all the way into the room and bowed, "The civilians are throwing a street party over Naruto's death… I want to stop it." she said with a frown._

_Tsunade's eyes widened, 'They really wanted him dead? The boy who's been the saviour and sacrifice of the village and they…' Tsunade's thoughts trailed off as she couldn't seem to wrap her head around the idea of hating such a feeble child._

_Hiruzen nodded before glancing to Tsunade, "Please take care of it on your way out." He asked softly before disappearing in a shunshin._

_Tsunade nodded before leaping over to Kurenai, "Show me then." Tsunade ordered as she was lead outside._

_Flashback end._

Tsunade shook her head before looking behind her, seeing the small amount of smoke that had occurred when she brought down the stage that the main 'party' had been happening on, 'How dare they do this, he's just a misunderstood child!' she shouted in her mind before she used her perfect chakra control to launch herself farther and faster than most ninja wished they could.

##########

Shizune smiled as she carried the bandaged Naruto on her back, the blonde was laughing even though they weren't doing anything spectacularly fun. To her it seemed he was just happy to be with someone that enjoyed being with him, "What do you want to do Naruto-chan?" Shizune asked.

Naruto blinked widely as his laughing came to a pause, "Um, I don't know." He said with a grin.

Shizune couldn't help but grin over her shoulder at him, "Well how about the playground? Look there're other kids there." She said with a nod towards the playground off to their left.

Naruto glanced at the playground before seeing an empty swing set, "Okay, but umm, can you come with me?" he asked timidly.

Shizune was curious about his sudden timidness, so as she put him down she asked him, "Why are you so shy Naruto? You don't need me to have fun." She said.

Naruto quickly grabbed her hand, not wanting to let go of her as he spoke quietly, "I wanna go on that." He said, pointing to the swing.

Shizune nodded, "Then let's go!" she said before jogging slowly, causing Naruto to start smiling and laughing again as he ran just to keep up with her.

She put him on the swing and they began to play as Shizune noticed something, 'He's not swinging properly, like he's never been on one before.' She thought as she realised that Naruto very well might not have ever had a chance to play like this.

"Shizune."

Naruto and Shizune glanced off to the side to see Tsunade walk from the trees with a smile on her face. Naruto didn't know who she was so he was suddenly feeling nervous even though Shizune definitely wasn't, "Tsunade-sama! You're back!" Shizune exclaimed as she began pushing Naruto softer.

Tsunade came to a stop leaning against the pole of the swing set, watching with a soft smile as Naruto looked at her curiously with his one visible eye, "Yeah I am. Listen I need to talk to Naruto for a moment." Tsunade said seriously.

Naruto felt nervous under the gaze of Tsunade, and even more so when Shizune nodded and stepped off to the side to give them some privacy.

Naruto watched as Tsunade replaced Shizune, pushing him slowly on the swing as she began talking, "What's the last thing you remember before waking up?" Tsunade asked.

Naruto glanced over his shoulder at her before answering quietly, "My eye was…ripped out." He answered timidly.

Tsunade nodded, "Were they ninjas or civilians who did it?" she asked.

Naruto stayed looking forward this time as he answered, "Ninjas I think, they had green jackets on like the older ninjas but they didn't look that old."

Tsunade nodded, 'So, they were probably Chunnin…' she thought before pushing Naruto again as she talked, "The Third Hokage asked me to look after you until I think you're ready to go back to the village. The only requirement was that you be strong enough to defend yourself. Okay?" Tsunade asked.

Naruto looked over his shoulder at Tsunade, "You mean, I can stay with Shizune-chan and you?" he asked hopefully.

Tsunade smiled and nodded, "Yeah sure. But what about getting stronger? Do you know what I mean?" she asked.

Naruto blinked widely, "Um, am I going to be a ninja? Like Weasel-san?" Naruto asked.

Tsunade raised a brow, 'He did know Itachi, it seems like he looks up to the man as well.' She thought before nodding, "Sort of, I'm going to teach you a little differently to how he was taught." She said with a slight smirk.

Naruto tilted his head, "But lady, how can you teach me? Are you a ninja too?" he asked.

Tsunade nodded, "Not just any ninja, I'm the best Medical Ninja alive at the moment." Tsunade said proudly.

Naruto's eyes widened as he turned to Tsunade, who caught the chains of the swing to make sure it didn't swing dangerously, "R-really?!" Naruto asked excitedly.

Tsunade grinned at Naruto's excitement, "Yes really."

Naruto jumped off the swing and cheered, "Yay! I wanna be a Mega-Cool Ninja too!" he shouted before running over and telling Shizune the news.

Tsunade blinked before she face-palmed, 'Not Mega-Cool ninja, Medical ninja!' she thought as she ground her teeth in frustration.

She looked over to Naruto and Shizune to see the blonde boy thrust a hand up into the air, but she gasped as she saw something unexpected.

In Naruto's shadow, she could have sworn that for a moment, she saw Dan smiling at Naruto, holding an ANBU mask out towards the boy before the image faded.

Tsunade blinked as she watched Naruto's happy smile, 'Maybe… I guess I can put my faith in one more person.' She thought with a soft smile before walking over to the duo.

##########

_Four Years Later…_

##########

*BOOM*

Shizune covered her eyes from the dust that blew her way, she kept her eyes covered until she heard Tonton speak up, "Oink!"

Shizune looked up at smiled at what she was beginning to see.

As the dust settled, a ten year old Naruto was shown standing in a crater nearly the size of a cart, his fist resting against the bottom of the crater as he stood.

He turned towards the clapping from Tsunade, who was grinning, "Looks like you finally got the control down Naruto-chan. How are you feeling chakra wise?" Tsunade asked.

Naruto looked up to Tsunade, his blonde hair blowing slightly in the wind as his red three-tomoed Sharingan eye glowed with confidence, the only sign that it wasn't his being the scar that led from it to the bridge of his nose, "Absolutely fine as always Kaa-san. My chakra is constantly replenishing at the same rate that this thing uses it remember?" he asked as he gestured towards the eye.

Tsunade bopped him on the head as she walked past, "I'm the one who told you that dummy, now come on. Since we can surely say that you've mastered all that I can teach you when it comes to control, it's time for you to learn the basics of Ninjutsu." Tsunade said as she kept walking over to Shizune.

Naruto followed her as the dust completely settled, showing off his outfit. Naruto wore grey skinny jeans made from a type of elastic denim so that his movements weren't limited. For a shirt he had a simple grey singlet-top with two stripes running down the right side on the front and over the top of his singlet, he wore a jacket much like his mother's. The only difference other than the size being that the kanji on her back while Naruto's held the Senju Clan seal in the centre of an orange circle.

Naruto nodded with a grin, "Sounds good Kaa-san, will Nee-chan be teaching me this time?" Naruto asked hopefully.

Tsunade's eyebrow twitched as she spun to face Naruto, "How come you always ask Shizune to teach you when it's something that she's already mastered huh?!" Tsunade said while shaking her fist.

Naruto grinned, "Cause Nee-chan is more patient with me when I can't get it right hahaha." Naruto said, beginning to laugh as he leapt into a hug with Tsunade.

Since he was still tiny, his head didn't even reach her chest and as such he basically disappeared from her line of sight every time he hugged her, other than the blonde patch of hair sticking backwards, "Yeah yeah, you go get taught all that academy stuff then." She said before walking towards the nearby town.

Shizune smiled as Naruto sat down in front of her, "Tsunade-sama what should I teach him?" Shizune asked.

Tsunade shrugged, "The basics I guess, the three passing Ninjutsu, some medical ninjutsu... oh yeah, and your taijutsu style. But remember Naru-chan, once you've learned it with the Sharingan you need to master it okay?" Tsunade said over her shoulder before raising her arm and waving, "See you guys for dinner!" Tsunade shouted as she left the area.

Naruto grinned up at his 'sister', "Nee-chan, these are the things that involve hand signs right? Cause I memorised them all like you said." Naruto said as he began moving his hands through the motions to demonstrate.

Shizune smiled and watched as he went through all of the basic twelve seals, finally ending with Tiger. "Very good Naruto, now I'm going to teach you a basic skill; the Substitution Jutsu." Shizune said with a smile before diving into her explanation and demonstration.

##########

_Two Years Later…_

##########

"NINJA ART: MYSTICAL FAST HEALING JUTSU!" Naruto said to himself as he healed the scrape along his knee in a matter of seconds.

He looked up to Tsunade and grinned, "Got that down pat! So what're we learning now Kaa-san?" Naruto asked cheerily, trying to get Tsunade to lighten up.

Over the past few days, Tsunade had been living with a permanent frown on her face ever since she received a letter from some bird which had landed on Naruto's head. Naruto had become a very attentive person thanks to Tsunade and Shizune's lessons on analysis of not only injury, but anyone who would walk past. Because of this, he easily figured out that the letter was from someone from the Hidden Leaf Village, which probably meant one thing.

They had to go back soon.

With a heavy sigh, Tsunade pulled the letter out from her cleavage, tossing it to Naruto, "Tell me what you think. Either way I'm not leaving you by yourself so tell me what you want to do and we'll do it." Tsunade said as she sat on the grass next to the blonde as he unfolded the letter.

'_Hello again Tsunade,_

_I think it's time. After six years he's at the appropriate age to  
take the gennin exam, if he's at that level yet I would like for  
him to come back and take the exams with the rookie year._

_I hope all is well, have you heard from Itachi? Please reply to  
me this time, I want to know about Naruto, what can I expect?_

_From Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage.'_

Naruto glanced up at his mother and smiled, "I think that I want to go back. I have to face them right Kaa-san?" Naruto asked.

Tsunade's frown line faded from her forehead as her eyes took a worried expression, "Are you sure? After what they did to you…" Tsunade said softly as she hugged him to her side.

Naruto smirked and nodded, glancing up at her with his Sharingan, "I can handle it, especially since we both know that I can learn more there since," he felt Tsunade's hand squeeze his shoulder tightly, "Ugh…they got scrolls and stuff there." Naruto said, quickly changing his sentence so that he wouldn't get smacked.

Tsunade smirked, "Alright, well you know where we are right?" she said as she stood up.

Naruto stood with her, "We just left Kentoryu city, so… we're back in the Land of Fire again right?" Naruto asked as he straightened his jacket.

Tsunade nodded, "Yes we are, and since we went through the last city I thought I'd teach you a little something special on the journey back." Tsunade said as she gestured towards herself.

Naruto raised a brow, "What is it mom?" he asked as they began walking towards the split path that led towards Konoha.

Tsunade chuckled, "You know that morning you found me and I looked older? You remember what I told you about the Genjutsu?" Tsunade asked.

Naruto nodded with a frown, "But I don't need to look younger mom." Naruto said.

Tsunade nodded, "I know that, but as we've said before they think you're dead Naruto. We have to keep it that way." She explained.

Naruto looked up at Tsunade, "But what can we do?" he asked.

Tsunade smirked, "Well, if you're comfortable with everyone thinking that you're my son… I have a plan." She spoke down to Naruto.

The blonde boy looked up at his mom and grinned, "Awesome!" he shouted happily.

Tsunade smiled and looked ahead, "Oh, Shizune." Tsunade said as she spotted her assistant waiting out the front of the hotel they were going to get lunch at.

Naruto looked forward and grinned as he began to run, "Nee-chaaaaan!" Naruto shouted as he leapt into a hug.

Tsunade watched the two smiling and hugging before she glanced down the road, 'So this is it…guess we're going back.' She thought before sighing.

'Looks like Konoha's gonna get a few new medics.'

##########

"All right settle down!"

Naruto came to a pause at the door, 'New town, new me…new class.' He thought taking a deep breath before placing his hand on the door as he heard the noise quieten down inside, 'I can do this.' He thought to himself before opening the door.

The class lost the last of its noise as everyone turned to look at the person who entered the door.

Naruto bowed to the sensei of the class, "Hi, my name is Naruto Senju, the Hokage told me to come here for some exam?" Naruto asked with a smile as he stood tall again.

Iruka looked over the new boy. Naruto looked almost the same except for the implementation of Tsunade's Genjutsu, his hair was now a lighter blonde that matched Tsunade's, his whisker marks were invisible and other than the scar reaching to his nose, his left eye seemed perfectly normal.

It took a few seconds for Iruka's mind to register Naruto's name, "Wait, Senju?" he asked.

Naruto nodded as he smiled, "Yeah, you may have heard of my Kaa-san, Tsunade Senju?" Naruto offered.

And suddenly, everyone was in an uproar.

Naruto blocked his ears from the shouting of questions heading his way, "QUIET DOWN!" Iruka's voice screamed out as his head suddenly became massive.

The class went quiet as Iruka turned to Naruto, "Alright Naruto, there's a seat up at the back. You're a couple of days early for the actual exam but we have the skill analysis tests today and tomorrow if you feel up for taking them." Iruka said with a smile at Naruto's polite attitude.

Naruto nodded before walking up to the chair, "Got it sensei." Naruto said as he fell into the chair.

Iruka smirked as he added Naruto's name to the bottom of his clipboard, "Alright, class what do we want to revise today, sparring and ninja tools or intelligence and jutsu theory?" he asked the class.

"SPARRING!"

"OUTSIDE!"

The class was filled with multiple shouts of the children wanting to go out and train, so much so that Naruto's eyes were wide at the amount of noise, 'I thought ninjas were supposed to be quiet…' he thought before seeing about four or five people sitting calmly, 'Well, at least some of them get it.'

Iruka nodded, "Alright, everyone head out to the second training field and start stretching, I'll be out in a moment and set up the sparring partners." Iruka said before walking out of the room.

Naruto stood along with the majority of the class, he just followed after the guy in front of him until they were walking through the hallway.

"Naruto Senju."

Naruto glanced to his left to see a boy in a large green coat and shades walking by his side. The boy seemed to be the tallest in the class but realistically that was the only outstanding feature the boy had, "Yeah, who are you?" Naruto asked.

The boy nodded, "I am called Shino Aburame. I was curious as to what skill set you possess." Shino said calmly.

Naruto blinked as he nodded, "Well, my mom trained me like she was trained, but I have gotten a few other skills thanks to my adopted Nee-chan. What about you?" Naruto asked.

Shino nodded, "It is rare to find a medic nin so young. As I am of the Aburame I am primarily tracking and assassination ninja. I hope we work on a mission together at some point in the future." Shino said with a nod before stepping ahead and holding the door for Naruto.

Naruto smiled, "I do too, thanks Shino." Naruto said as he walked outside.

Looking around the area where the students were gathered, Naruto watched with interest as over half of the girls in the class fawned over some guy who was doing warm-up stretches. Naruto rolled his eyes before noticing some students stretching together, so Naruto strolled over to join them.

Naruto came to a stop behind the only girl in the group, "Hi, do you guys mind if I join ya?" Naruto asked.

The girl looked up at Naruto and blushed before looking ahead, but the boy resting near her shrugged, "No need to ask, just take a seat. I'm Shikamaru by the way." Shikamaru said with a casual wave.

Naruto nodded and took a seat between Shikamaru and other kid, this one had a dog sitting on his head, "Hey, I'm Kiba Inuzuka, is your mom really Tsunade?" he asked.

Naruto nodded, "Yeah, why's that such a big deal?" Naruto asked, genuinely curious.

Kiba scoffed, "You're kidding right? She's one of the Sannin, the strongest kunoichi in the world!" Kiba exclaimed.

Naruto raised a brow, "Really? She's just my mom." Naruto said, not really getting why it was that special.

Before he could be questioned more, Iruka came out of the building along with another teacher, "Alright, when I call out your names I want you to come here for your sparring match, first up we need to find where the new student ranks in the class. Naruto," Iruka said with a smile, "Who do you wanna fight?" Iruka asked.

Naruto stood but was frowning as he walked over to the sparring circle, "I personally don't want to fight anyone but mom always said I should push myself sooo…" Naruto hesitated as he looked around the area, "I dunno, one of the top five of the class I guess?"

The class laughed, causing Naruto to look around with a slight frown, "What's so funny?" he asked.

"You shouldn't be overconfident, you have no idea how good we are." Some blonde girl shouted at Naruto.

Naruto shrugged, "And you shouldn't underestimate me, anyways who should I spar with?" Naruto asked Iruka.

Iruka looked around the class before seeing something he hadn't seen in years.

Sasuke was watching Naruto with an interested look in his eyes, the most emotion that Sasuke had shown in years since the incident with his clan, "How about the top of the class?" Iruka offered.

While most of the class was about to make a fuss, Sasuke immediately stood up and marched to the sparring circle.

Naruto looked Sasuke up and down as Sasuke did the same, "Naruto Senju, right?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto nodded with a smile, "And you are?" Naruto asked while offering a hand to Sasuke.

Usually Sasuke would knock off the hand shake, but seeing as Naruto was from a major clan, Sasuke decided to take the offer, "Sasuke Uchiha." Sasuke said.

Naruto's left eye twitched, 'Uchiha…so this is Itachi's younger brother…' Naruto thought as the two of them stepped back from each other.

Iruka waved his arm, "Alright, you two ready?" Iruka asked.

The two boys nodded instantly.

"Begin!"

##########

Chapter End.

Random dream inspired this, hopefully it'll be good. Please Read and review, would like to hear what ya'll think :)

though due to this story not being really a main focus of mine, don't be expecting continuous updates regularly. though i don't plan to ditch this story any time soon :)

talk to ya'll later, Alky out


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two: Welcome to the Academy

"Begin!"

The fight began with Sasuke charging towards Naruto in the second stance of the Intercepting Fist style taught to all Uchiha, he swung a testing punch at Naruto.

The blonde was taking the spar seriously since he had no idea of his opponent's skill level, so he did the first manoeuvre that was part of his secondary fighting style, taught to him by Shizune.

Naruto ducked the first fist before stepping to the side of the other, his Sharingan making it extremely easy to avoid Sasuke's attack. Naruto kept dodging until Sasuke kicked at Naruto's chest.

The blonde crafted his chakra like Shizune taught him, forming an invisible chakra scalpel around his hand as he leant back, dodging the kick as he barely tapped the back of Sasuke's knee.

Naruto rolled backwards, coming up in a defensive stance as he assumed Sasuke would have dodged the attack…

"AAAHHHH!" Sasuke shouted in pain as the back of his knee opened up, causing him to fall to the ground shouting in pain.

Many of the students of the class began screaming in shock or fear as Naruto's eyes widened, 'What the hell?! Why didn't he dodge it?!' Naruto thought as Iruka turned to run inside and get the academy medic.

As the people crowded around Sasuke's screaming form, Naruto could only stare in shock as Shino came up behind him, "I am curious as to why you do not heal him. At this moment it would be the wisest thing to do for the sake of your peace of mind." Shino said.

Naruto nodded, shaken from his shock thanks to Shino, "You're right, I got this." Naruto said before running into the group of people, pushing them out of the way until he came to a stop by Sasuke's side.

Though Naruto had read all the books and been taught all the techniques, this was still only the second person (other than himself) that he had worked on and as such, took a few seconds more than may have been necessary to form the hand seals, "NINJA ART: MYSTICAL PALM HEALING JUTSU!" Naruto shouted.

The class went quiet and the screaming stopped as Naruto's green chakra wrapped around Sasuke's leg and began to stitch it all up. Not even a minute later, the wound was fully healed.

Everyone, including Sasuke, stared in awe at the lack of wound as Naruto casually wiped the blood away with the back of his hand. Iruka and the medic ran out just as Naruto nodded to himself, "There ya go, not even a scar. Sorry I took you seriously, I really thought you would've dodged it like a normal ninja." Naruto said with an apologetic shrug, not meaning anything rude by what he said even though he'd mistakenly sounded like that.

The fan girls were too stunned to defend Sasuke as their supposed knight in shining armour was just thoroughly beaten and with healed with only one hand.

The academy medic jogged the last few steps before dropping to Sasuke's side, running his slightly green glowing hand along Sasuke's leg, "What? It's almost as if he never had the injury at all!" the medic exclaimed.

Naruto frowned, "Yeah I know, sorry I couldn't just replace the muscles. I'm not as good as mom yet. But at least I put all of his muscles and tendons back together." Naruto said with a shrug, thinking that the medic was saying his medical jutsu wasn't up to par.

In the mean time, Sasuke was glaring at Naruto with confusion, trying to be angry but too intrigued by the blonde's power to do so. So the moment the medic pulled away, Sasuke tried to stand and found that he could with no problem, "Senju! What was that!" Sasuke demanded.

Naruto chuckled at Sasuke, thinking that he was being overly dramatic, "It was nothing, just formed a single chakra scalpel around my hand, y'know, the kind that all medics use." Naruto explained.

The academy medic just stared at Naruto, "T-the chakra scalpel?! But that's only taught to Jonin medics! I don't even know it yet!" the medic shouted in shock, causing the whole class to gasp at Naruto's abilities.

Naruto nodded, "Really? I had no idea…" Naruto mumbled as he looked off in thought, wondering why Shizune had taught him the technique.

Iruka cleared his throat, getting the attention of the class before he began speaking, "Well, considering Sasuke was on the ground screaming for nearly a minute and then his opponent was the one to heal him, I'd say that Naruto was the winner of the first round." Iruka said, grabbing Naruto's arm and holding it up in victory.

The class was mostly quiet until one Sasuke-fan-girl broke the silence, "That's okay Sasuke-kun! Go make an awesome comeback!" she shouted, spurring the other fan girls to start cheering again as Iruka led Naruto and Sasuke back to their starting positions.

Sasuke took a deep breath before focussing on the match at hand, 'This time, I'm going all out from the beginning.' He thought, moving into the fourth stance of the Intercepting Fist.

Naruto frowned slightly as Iruka signalled to get ready, 'Note to self, no more jutsu against supposed comrades.' He thought as he decided to instead live up to his mother's reputation.

As Iruka dropped his hand – signalling for the fight to begin – Naruto slid into a wide stance, the near opposite of the stance he was in previously.

"BEGIN!" Iruka announced.

This time, Sasuke and Naruto ran at each other from the start. Sasuke feigned a low kick before kicking up at Naruto's chin the moment they got close.

Naruto block the feint before taking the second kick to his guard, knocking him back a step as he channelled his chakra down his arm. Naruto dropped under Sasuke's next punch and threw one in return, only for Sasuke to dodge it by rolling inside Naruto's guard, throwing another kick at Naruto's chest.

The blonde lifted his own knee, blocking the kick before he kicked out, separating the two of them with the reflective manoeuvre. Sasuke immediately ran in again as Naruto closed his right eye, using his hidden Sharingan to perfectly time his movements, 'Okay…' Naruto thought as he sent his chakra down to his middle finger.

Sasuke threw a punch.

'One,' Naruto thought as he stepped back with the punch, guiding it past him and throwing Sasuke off balance.

'Two,' Naruto pulled Sasuke's outstretched arm, moving Sasuke past him and forcing the Uchiha to focus purely on stopping his momentum so that he didn't leave the ring.

'Aaaannnd,' Naruto thought as Sasuke finally gained his bearings and began to turn around just in time to see Naruto's finger ready to flick his forehead, 'Three!'

*BOOM*

The simple flick launched Sasuke out of the ring and into the teacher from another class, who stood nearly a hundred meters away at the target practice range.

Naruto grinned as he leant over, dusting the dirt from his knee while he spoke, "Hehehe, I win Iruka sensei!" Naruto exclaimed as he turned back to the class.

Iruka sighed as the class went into another uproar, "Alright that's enough! If any of you get out of control once more then no more sparring today! Got it?!" Iruka said.

The class went mostly quiet until a pink haired girl shouted out, "But Iruka-sensei! That Naruto guy is cheating somehow! There's no way he could beat Sasuke-kun!" she shrieked, making some of the students closest to her cover their ears, though soon after most of the girls were shouting that Naruto was cheating.

Iruka's brow twitched before he exploded, his Intimidating Big Head technique kicking into gear as he towered over the whole class, "THAT'S IT! EVERYONE BUT NARUTO INSIDE RIGHT THIS SECOND OR I'LL CANCEL THE EXAMS THIS YEAR!" Iruka shouted while pointing towards the main building.

In less than a minute, the class had ran inside while the academy medic finished up with looking over Sasuke and taking him inside, proclaiming the boy to be fine after a quick medical jutsu to get rid of the big red mark on his forehead.

Feeling Sasuke's glare on the back of his head, Naruto sighed as he looked off towards the other class of students, 'Oh man, I feel like I just broke some unspoken rule. Maybe it was a bad idea to spar with Sasuke.' Naruto thought as Iruka came up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

Naruto turned and looked up at Iruka, "Yeah sensei?" Naruto asked.

Iruka smiled down at Naruto, "Firstly, congratulations on beating the top of the class. Secondly, you are obviously coming here purely for the qualification right?" Iruka asked with a slight smirk.

Naruto grinned up at Iruka, "Umm, yeah sure." Naruto agreed even though he honestly didn't know what Iruka meant.

Iruka nodded, "Thought so, can you do me a favour Naruto?" Iruka asked.

Naruto nodded, always happy to help someone in need, "Sure, no prob." He agreed.

Iruka smiled again at Naruto's positive attitude, "You see, Sasuke was hurt by someone close to him a while ago. The result of which caused everyone he cared about to be taken away from him forever." Iruka began, causing Naruto to lose his cheery look as he thought about the pain Sasuke must have been going through, "Because of that, Sasuke hasn't been interested in anything but power and getting stronger ever since so that he can get revenge. But today I saw something that I haven't seen since the incident." Iruka said, causing Naruto to tilt his head in interest as he thought over what the favour could possibly be.

After a few second of silence, Iruka knelt down to Naruto's eye level, "When you walked in the room I saw a spark of interest in his eye, and since you're literally the first person in the academy that has beaten him, you are most definitely on his radar now. The favour I want to ask of you Naruto," Iruka said, taking a deep breath as he thought over his words, "Could you try to… befriend Sasuke?" Iruka asked seriously.

Naruto nodded, outwardly appearing understanding and happy while on the inside… 'I wonder why Sensei is acting like the sun shines out of Sasuke's butt?' he thought as his curiosity to learn got the better of him, 'What's so special about him other then suffering through some pain when he was younger? Was it more pain then I can fathom? Does he just express it bad?' Naruto thought as he continued nodding, more intrigued in analysing Sasuke's potential medical problems.

Iruka smiled genuinely, "Thanks Naruto, let's go inside now." He said before ushering Naruto through the doors in front of them and leading him back to the classroom.

##########

"Hey Sasuke!" Naruto said with a grin as he sat down opposite the Uchiha boy in the academy cafeteria.

Because of the earlier spar, Iruka thought it prudent to have the rest of the lesson on Ninjutsu and Genjutsu theory, it had lead towards an early lunch break since no one was paying enough attention to take in anything anyway. It was at this point that Naruto decided he had some time to kill before Tsunade got there to talk to Iruka with him.

Sasuke paused eating his apple and blinked in confusion as Naruto casually began to eat a sandwich his mom had made him, "What do you want?" Sasuke said with a glare.

Many a fan-girl watched on through the windows as most students went outside to eat. Though on days when Sasuke was moody, it was more than common to see at least five academy girls watching him through the windows.

Naruto opened his mouth before suddenly realising he had no idea what to say, so he just said whatever came out first, "I want… to train with you!" Naruto said, grinning as he finally thought of something.

Sasuke seemed to be sulking as he looked down, "Why? You're obviously stronger than me. What could I possibly bring to your training?" he asked.

Naruto sighed, "Hold on, I didn't say that right…why don't you come train with me?" Naruto reiterated before nodding to himself

Sasuke's brow furrowed, "Why?" he asked again.

Naruto's brow twitched before dropping the kindness and just being himself, "Look, I'm the last Senju, you're the last Uchiha. Between the two of us there will either be a rivalry which benefits no one or we become freakin awesome together and fulfil all our goals. I'm gonna do the second one with or without you but I'd much rather a comrade I can trust when I get to the top. Get me?" Naruto said, looking Sasuke dead in the eyes and trying to use the Subtle Suggestion of his Sharingan to influence Sasuke's decision.

Little did he know, but his words were exactly what Sasuke needed to kick into high gear.

Sasuke roughly placed his apple down as he stood, "So, you and me. The Senju and the Uchiha…" Sasuke said with a smirk as he imagined having the same power that Naruto had and maybe even recreating the most powerful tag-team in history, Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju.

Naruto grinned and nodded as he stood, "Yep, the leaders of this generation. That's what they'll call us!" Naruto said, holding his fist out to Sasuke.

The Uchiha's smirk stayed in place as he bumped fists with Naruto, "Sounds like a good start to me." Sasuke replied with a nod.

"Sasuke-kun!"

The Uchiha brow twitched and his smirk fell as Naruto glanced over Sasuke's shoulder, "Who's she?" Naruto asked.

The pinkette ran over and went to hug Sasuke from behind, but as if he knew it was coming, Sasuke hopped up onto the table before flipping over her in a seamless manoeuvre that caused her to run straight into the chair and fall face-first onto Sasuke's apple, crushing it with her large forehead.

Naruto blinked in shock as Sasuke landed calmly facing the door, "Trust me and ignore her Naruto." Sasuke said as he walked from the room.

Naruto blinked again in shock before moving to follow Sasuke, but it seemed the girl had found a new target, but not for love…

"DAMMIT NARUTO WHY DID YOU TRIP ME?!" the pinkette screeched.

Naruto jumped in shock, "Ugh, sorry but I didn't trip you…" he said, trailing off since he didn't know her name.

He raised a brow as the girl tried to physically attack him, tried meaning that she swung a punch and he sidestepped with such ease that it looked like she had missed on purpose.

The girl nearly growled at Naruto as she got angrier, while all he could do was watch curiously as she just stood there threateningly, 'Does she have something to say? Do I leave now?' he thought to himself before glancing at Sasuke for a hint of what to do.

"DON'T IGNORE ME!" the pinkette screamed the moment he looked away before she swung a punch at him once more.

Naruto stepped out of her way, bored of her weird attitude and not understanding that when she was like this most people would just stand there and let her hit them. So, he decided to end it.

She threw her next punch, 'One, Two, Three.' Naruto thought as he moved through the steps, aiming his middle finger at her forehead.

*flick*BOOM*

The girls at the window screamed as they jumped away from the glass, which only a second later, Sakura came flying through.

Naruto smirked to himself before hearing the oddest sound he had ever encountered. Naruto glanced over to Sasuke's retreated form to see the Uchiha boy was chuckling slightly, but he appeared shocked that he was doing so.

Naruto raised a brow as Sasuke suddenly stopped. 'Okaaaay, that's a little weird, who gets shocked at their own laughter?' Naruto thought as he watched Sasuke continue leaving the room.

Naruto blinked before shrugging and turning back to his sandwich, deciding that he should finish his food before heading out to find Iruka's office.

##########

The Third Hokage sighed in annoyance, "Why won't you give me a straight answer with this Tsunade?" Hiruzen asked as he rubbed his temples.

Tsunade stood with a frown on her face as she leant against the wall, looking out the Hokage's window in the direction of the academy, "I'm being honest, I don't know his strength level. I just know that he hasn't been able to beat me or Shizune yet." She explained for the fifth time.

Hiruzen's frown stayed in place as he watched Tsunade, "You really didn't train him in combat at all?" he clarified.

Tsunade sighed as she stared out the window still, "I trained him in how to be a medic and my chakra strength, Shizune taught him the ninja requirements of the old system's gennin and the rest he taught himself under her supervision from our technique scrolls, which were mostly medical arts anyway. The only ninja experience he's had in training against us, so I don't know how he'd manage going all out." She said, truly believing that Naruto didn't have any fighting experience in a real world situation.

Hiruzen stroked his beard, "Well, I guess I'll talk to Iruka before I finally see Naruto again." the third mumbled to himself with a small smile before smiling at Tsunade, "I hope he still remembers his 'Jiji'." He said to her with a smile.

Tsunade smiled back, "He does Sensei, don't you worry about that." She said, smiling alongside the old man.

Sarutobi nodded before turning to some papers on his table, "Okay now, let's get down to business. I want you to join the Kage's guard, a Sannin's presence will-"

"Fuck no."

Hiruzen stared at Tsunade in shock since he had never heard her swear, "Tsunade!" he exclaimed.

Tsunade rolled her eyes, "You stated that Sannin status gives us the right to leave the village for business anytime I want and if you try to get me to do things that I don't think are important then I'm gonna use that right to leave." She said with a smirk.

The old man blinked in slight shock at Tsunade's sudden dominance, his brain slowly rebooting as he tried to fathom that this strong Tsunade was the same woman who he held as she cried enough to drown a fish over Dan. He took a deep breath as he shook his head, "Fine then, go do whatever you want. But I really wish you'd help the village while you're here." He said.

Tsunade raised a brow, "Did you think I'd just sit back and drink the whole time old man? I have plans to make this place better already." Tsunade said with a slight smirk.

Hiruzen looked at Tsunade expectantly, "Really? Please do tell." He said.

Tsunade chuckled as she walked over and took a seat in the chair facing Sarutobi's desk, "I'm taking the first open position at the hospital and I'm gonna work my way up through the hierarchy to become head medic again and Shizune is going to join the medic corps of ANBU to bring them back up to tip top shape." Tsunade explained, resting back into the chair.

Hiruzen started tapping at the smoking pipe resting on his desk, contemplating the likelihood of either of Tsunade's events succeeding, 'Who am I kidding? Shizune is above Jonin level in medic skills, and the ANBU will help her refine her other ninja skills. Not to mention that Tsunade is literally the best medic alive, with the presence of one of the Sannin permanently rooted in the village others are less likely to attack as well...' He thought, his face slowly turning to a smile.

He nodded as he looked at Tsunade once more, "Sounds fine, but do me a favour?" he asked.

Since he had just given her the go ahead, she agreed with a smile, "Sure thing, what do you need sensei?" she asked.

"Just make it seem like I ordered everything that you do. It'll strengthen my grasp of control by making it look like I have you under my thumb as well as take all the pressure off of you and onto me." He said as he opened his draw to get what he needed to pack his pipe.

Tsunade frowned in thought for a moment before thinking of a reason that Hiruzen would need to look like he is in control of the village, coming to a few reasons of her own, "Hyuugas or ROOT?" she asked, pretty certain that one of those groups was the reason Hiruzen's control was slipping.

Hiruzen chuckled, "Actually, the moment I announced you were returning the Hyuuga Clan backed down. I do believe Hiashi still has a soft spot for you Tsunade." He said as he lifted his pipe to his lips, the contents a distinguishing green and brown.

Tsunade sighed, "I still don't get why. I'm a decade older than him and I've proven that I can stop his advances with force if need be." She said before directing a frown towards the old man's pipe, "I thought you were planning to cut down smoking while working?" she asked pointedly since she was the one who told him to slow down.

Hiruzen pointed at the wall, giving Tsunade a few seconds to look over to the clock just before it struck thirteen-hundred hours, "I'm on my lunch break." Hiruzen said before lighting his pipe and leaning back in his chair to relax.

Tsunade rolled her eyes, "Fine, is there anything else sensei? I'm meant to be meeting Naruto for his lunch break at the academy as of twenty seconds ago." She said as she folded her arms, showing that she really wanted to leave.

Hiruzen waved her off, "That's all Tsunade, go have fun with your 'son'." He said, making air quotation marks with his fingers before taking a drag of his pipe.

Tsunade stopped all movement as the air turned cold, she couldn't help the anger she felt when people, no matter who they were, questioned or poked at her relationship with the boy she truly cared for as a son, "Sarutobi, you better not ruin what the three of us have." She said, unfolding her arms and placing one on the man's desk.

The old man, who had to hold in a smokers cough, blew out some smoke before looking up at Tsunade's overly threatening stance, 'I never expected Tsunade to open up this much again. I guess Naruto's charm still hasn't left him.' He thought with a slight smile.

Hiruzen nodded to himself, ignoring Tsunade's threatening pressure completely as he leant forward, looking up at her again, "You, Shizune and Naruto are now the last remnants of three major clans, the Senju, Namikaze and Uzumaki. The safest option for all of you is to remain hidden together," the old man said, his own pressure beginning to drown hers out with seemingly little effort on his part. His soft gaze suddenly turned to a promising glare, "There is absolutely no way I would do anything to threaten him. Not after all this." He said.

Tsunade felt his words as if the promise was a physical force pressing down on her. She smiled, knowing her sensei would do everything to make sure they were okay, "Dinner at my place, eight o'clock. You coming?" she asked as she walked over to the old man's windowpane.

Sarutobi chuckled as he brought his pipe to his lips once more, "Wouldn't miss it Tsunade-chan." He said before lighting up.

Tsunade nodded with a smirk before she leapt out into the air, forming a one handed ram seal before she disappeared in a standard Leaf Shunshin.

##########

Iruka was staring down at his paperwork, his mind still stuck on Naruto and Sasuke's fight, 'Though Naruto was obviously the stronger of the two, there was a definite difference in the way they fought. Naruto's steps were like a well practised dance, he was in control the entire time, yet Sasuke's moves were perfected, each attack aimed at a vital point, he just wasn't even close to being fast enough. Naruto seemed to move like he was used to a far stronger opponent.' Iruka thought before leaning back in his chair.

He had enough time to go to his office and get a fresh coffee twice over during the first half of the lunch break, but he thought it better that he spend more time focussing on his student's paperwork and how best to help them pass their gennin exams.

*Knock*

Iruka glanced over at the doorway to see Naruto waving to him, "Come on in Naruto, how are ya finding your first day?" Iruka asked as he waved the boy over.

Naruto smiled as he entered, "It's okay I guess, has my mom come by?" Naruto asked.

Iruka raised a brow, "Tsunade Senju? Here? I don't see why…she…" Iruka began before trailing off as he glanced over Naruto's shoulder.

Naruto turned to see his mother confidently stride into the room, "Kaa-san!" Naruto exclaimed with a grin.

Tsunade ruffled Naruto's hair as she walked past before taking a seat opposite Iruka, leaning against the first row of desks, "Hey Naru-chan," she said before looking Iruka up and down, "Hmm, I don't know if you're qualified to teach my son." Tsunade commented, earning a scowl from Iruka.

'Oh great, she's just like those other selfish clansmen. I thought she'd know that you don't have to be from a Noble Clan to be a good ninja.' Iruka thought in frustration, thinking that Tsunade was being clan discriminate.

Iruka stood up, "Excuse me Tsunade-sama, but how would you know what my teaching abilities are without ever attending my classes?" he asked calmly.

Tsunade smirked at Iruka, "Ah good, he can stand up for himself." She said as she held out a friendly hand shake towards Iruka, "Just wanted to see if you'll treat us any differently because of our clan status, sorry if I offended you." she said with a grin.

Iruka faltered at Tsunade's explanation, "O-oh! No apologies necessary, really," he said, accepting Tsunade's offered hand, "I thought you were acting all high and mighty like the Hyuuga do, questioning a non-clansman's abilities to teach and all."

Tsunade sighed, "Hyuuga aye?" she muttered to herself before leaning back against the table, "Well my apologies then. Sorry but I am in a bit of a rush, what does Naruto need to know so that he can become a gennin?" she asked, placing a hand on her son's shoulder.

Iruka looked down at his desk and slid a few papers around, grabbing a few which he passed to Tsunade one at a time, "This is the practice test for the written portion. If he can cover these questions of basic ninja skills then he should be good for the actually exam, cause the questions are along the same lines," Iruka said before holding out the next sheet, "This is the qualifications necessary for physical prowess, stuff like accuracy with thrown weapons, personal speed, strength and chakra control," he continued before passing her the last sheet, "And this is a list of the academy approved Ninjutsu that he has to know all three core jutsu and gets extra credit for the other two." Iruka explained.

Tsunade was nodding along until she read the list of five techniques, "Wait, they only have to know these moves? Clones? Damn." She muttered before frowning towards Naruto, "Looks like we really will have to try to teach you a clone technique." She said as she showed the sheet to Naruto.

The blonde scowled before seeing the extra credit Ninjutsu, "Oh! But Nee-chan is teaching me this one!" Naruto said, pointing at the second technique.

Tsunade nodded while Iruka's eyes widened at seeing the one Naruto pointed to, 'The Storage Seal? No one but maybe Shino and Sakura has had the focus to learn that.' Iruka thought as Tsunade began talking.

"I know Naruto. Also Medical chakra is an 'Alternate' chakra type, so you have the other criteria for the extra credit, but you still have to learn the clone technique." She explained.

Naruto frowned, "Oh man." He groaned.

Iruka tilted his head in confusion, "But you can do the chakra scalpel, how do you not have the control to do a clone jutsu when you can do that?" he asked.

Naruto just grinned and stayed quiet, knowing that Tsunade would handle it, "Naru-chan has gained the ability from his Great-Grandmother, Mito Uzumaki. You heard of her?" Tsunade asked.

Iruka nodded as he held his chin in thought, "Yeah, Mito Uzumaki or Mito Senju after she married the Lord First. Her chakra was too thick for most basic jutsu, some people say that is the predecessor to what was beginning to spread as chakra based bloodlines in the Uzumaki clan." Iruka said, basically quoting a history book he had literally memorised.

Tsunade blinked at the information, "Huh? Grandma's super-chakra made bloodlines?" Tsunade asked, wondering if it was the presence of the Kyuubi inside her that had made these so called bloodlines.

Iruka raised a brow, "Like the Uzumaki clan's Chakra Chains, or their Chakra Armour, or their Chakra Field Sensory, or their Chakra Lock, or their Chakra Absorption…" Iruka began listing before he trailed off, realising that he was lecturing a Sannin.

Tsunade tilted her head in thought, 'Huh, well I guess I should check for any weird things in Naruto's chakra system later. Maybe he developed something that we haven't noticed yet?' she thought as she glanced down at the confused looking Naruto before turning to Iruka once again, "So Naruto can't do normal clones cause of his thick chakra, it just can't squeeze into a small simple form." She explained, using the lie to cover up the fox's existence.

Iruka nodded before looking at Naruto curiously, "So, how are you able to do the Transformation jutsu then?" Iruka asked.

Naruto grinned, already knowing how to answer this one, "Oh! It's cause I spend the excess chakra on even the most minuscule of details that aren't really needed, like stitching in clothes, the veins of a person's eyeballs yadda yadda." Naruto explained.

Iruka held his chin as he nodded, "Hm, very smart."

*DING*

Tsunade frowned as the academy bell went, "Already? Damn." She said before focussing on Iruka, "So what can we do?" she asked.

Iruka smiled in a friendly manner, "He has to know a clone technique in accordance to the test. Doesn't specify what type." Iruka shared.

Naruto raised a brow in confusion while Tsunade nodded with a slight smirk, "Ah right!" she said before crouching to be at Naruto's eye level, "Okay Naru-chan, don't overestimate yourself here alright? Apparently there are more than one clan heirs in this class so they will probably be able to take you down without too much difficulty, but that's ok." she said while ruffling his hair.

Naruto grinned at Tsunade, "Okay mom! I'll be careful!" he exclaimed happily as she stood tall again.

Tsunade nodded to Iruka, "Thanks Iruka, I'll see you again some other time yeah?" she said dismissively as she began walking towards the door.

Iruka nodded, "Yes Tsunade-sama!" he agreed formally.

Tsunade smirked to herself as she left the room, 'Okay, well Shizune knows the Water Clone and I know the Earth and Shadow Clones. If we find out his elemental affinity then we may get lucky and end up giving him a little head start on his elemental training for Jonin…let's see what happens.' She thought as she turned a corner, narrowly avoiding a few of the members of Iruka's class.

Tsunade frowned, 'These kids… they don't really move like real ninja, well at least not all of them.' she thought in confusion before turning to leave once more.

##########

"Naruto."

The young Senju turned curiously before smiling, "Hey Shino, what's up?" Naruto asked.

As Shino came to a stop next to Naruto, he glanced around, checking the area was clear before he spoke softly, "I am aware you are under an extremely high level transformation technique or Genjutsu that seems to be hiding only your face. The reason you do this is what exactly?" Shino asked.

Naruto's eyes widened, "What!? Shino how do you know that?! You can't know that!" Naruto shouted, drawing the attention of many of the parents and children that were being picked up from the academy.

Shino raised an eyebrow, he was about to speak when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Naruto and Shino both looked over the bug user's shoulder to see a man who looked and dressed very much like Shino, "Father." Shino greeted.

Shibi Aburame nodded in return, "Son," he said before looking at Naruto, "I now understand our dinner invitation. Naruto-san, I shall see you at another time." Shibi said before he and his son were gone in a shunshin.

Naruto frowned, 'Oh man, how'd they know? Mom didn't say that anyone would be able to tell.' Naruto thought unhappily before turning towards the gate.

He grinned as he saw Shizune looking around, "Hey Nee-chan!" Naruto shouted as he waved.

Shizune turned and grinned as Naruto ran up to her, "Hey Naruto-kun, how was your first day?" she asked.

Naruto slid to a stop in front of her, "It was ok I guess, I think we have a problem with my identity being a secret and all though." He said quietly as he looked up with a slightly worried expression.

Shizune's eyebrows shot up, "Huh? Really?" she asked.

Naruto nodded, "Mhmm." He hummed in agreement.

Shizune frowned before seeing another child looking over at her and Naruto, "Well, we should go see Tsunade-sama about that soon then." She said before seeing that the boy was still watching, "Umm, who's that boy watching us?" she asked her little brother figure.

Naruto turned with a curious look on his face before seeing Sasuke, watching with a hate-filled glare at the families that didn't notice him, his glare softened slightly as he saw Naruto waving him over, "That's Sasuke, I guess you could say he's a… friend?" Naruto said, not really sure of his own words.

Shizune smiled down at Naruto, 'He has a friend so soon? That's good,' she thought before looking at the lonely boy approaching them, 'Maybe it would be a good idea to invite him to the dinner party tonight?' she thought as Sasuke began to slow.

Sasuke nodded to Naruto, "Naruto." Sasuke mumbled before nodding to Shizune, not saying her name in welcome since he did not know it.

Naruto, being his curious self, looked around in confusion, "Who's come to pick you up?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke's eyes turned towards the ground as his glare came back full force, "No one." Sasuke said simply.

Shizune's eyes widened in recognition, 'He must be an orphan like Naruto-kun…' she thought sadly before looking at Sasuke with a kind smile, "Well if that's so Sasuke, would you like to come with us for a while? We've only got some training planned for the afternoon but Naruto needs a sparring partner." Shizune said.

Sasuke looked up at her, his glare gone as his expression seemed frozen in a mask of emotionless. He didn't say anything for a moment, but that was mainly because Naruto spoke quicker, "Oh yeah! Can you help Sasuke learn the storage seal so that he can get extra credit? That way we'll both be top of the class right?" Naruto shouted happily.

Shizune nodded as Sasuke looked at Naruto with widened eyes, 'He knows the extra credit material?' Sasuke thought to himself in disbelief.

Shizune raised a brow at Sasuke's expression, 'He thinks that's impressive? Geez, I thought they'd be trained better, aren't they about to graduate to gennin?' she thought to herself with a small frown.

"Well let's get going then!" Naruto exclaimed cheerily before running off.

Sasuke watched Naruto start running with confusion before Shizune poked his forehead, "Hey Sasuke-kun, pay attention and keep up yeah?" she said before sending chakra to her feet and jumping.

Sasuke stared with wide eyes, stunned that the seemingly normal woman just jumped all the way to land perfectly next to Naruto, turning to sprint along with him, "W-Wait!" Sasuke shouted, causing many people to stare in shock as he sprinted after the two at full speed.

##########

Sasuke scowled from his place on his ass, "This is impossible!" he exclaimed angrily as he got to his feet shakily.

Naruto looked down from his place in the tree nearby Sasuke, sitting in front of blank sheets of paper with an ink brush in hand, "No it's not, I can't believe you don't know this basic trick." Naruto said with a roll of his eyes.

Sasuke scowled up at his new rival, "What does this have to do with writing seals anyway?" Sasuke asked angrily as he formed a ram seal to help focus his chakra.

*SMACK*

Sasuke dropped his hands in pain as he scowled up at Shizune, who poked his nose, "Stop whining, I already explained that you need to be able to freely channel your chakra to focus it into the ink. No hand seals." Shizune explained.

Sasuke sighed as he sent the chakra to his feet once more, slowly walking towards the tree as he put one foot on the tree. He easily lifted himself up on one foot before waiting for a few seconds and slowly placing down his right.

After a few seconds of silence, Sasuke opened his eyes to see that he had stayed in contact with the tree. Instead of getting overexcited, Sasuke calmly breathed as he slowly began to walk up the tree.

With one final brush stroke, Naruto finished his seal and smiled, grabbing a kunai that he had stabbed into the wood next to him, he placed it over the seal. Placing one hand over the other, he held both palms over the kunai as he channelled his chakra, "SEAL!" Naruto said.

*POOF*

Naruto grinned as his weapon disappeared in a small cloud of smoke, he sat back and sighed in relaxation, "Mission accomplished." He thought to himself in satisfaction before looking over to Sasuke.

Naruto's eyes widened, 'Damn! He's getting it faster then I was.' Naruto thought as he watched Sasuke walk slowly up the tree.

"Sasuke stop!" Shizune shouted up at him.

Sasuke paused in his walk and opened his eyes. They widened considerably when he realised that he was about to step off the underside of the branch, "I… I did it!" Sasuke exclaimed in excitement as he relaxed the tiniest bit, his control good enough that he could stay easily enough.

Shizune smiled as she waved, "That was great Sasuke! In less than four hours too!" she exclaimed happily as Sasuke let his chakra disconnect.

Flipping through the air, Sasuke landed feet first with ease in front of Shizune, though he was caught off guard from her next actions.

Shizune picked Sasuke up in a hug just like she would Naruto, swinging him around by a tight grip on his head, "I'M SO PROUD OF YOOOOOOUUUUUU!" she shouted cheerily as she spun in circles.

Naruto laughed as he picked up his seal, turning to slide off the branch as Sasuke was finally let go. Sasuke gasped for air as he leant over to place his hands on his knees to rest.

Shizune paused and blinked at Sasuke in confusion, "Are you alright?" she asked, not realising she had been suffocating the academy student with her chest.

Sasuke nodded, not saying anything else on the matter until he saw another pair of feet arrive.

"Well, I'm guessing we got a new trainee?"

Sasuke looked up only for his eyes to widen, "Tsunade Senju?" he asked in quiet shock.

Tsunade smirked, "Yeah kid?" she asked, messing with him since she knew that her mere appearance usually sent people into shock.

Sasuke just stared in shock, "G-good evening ma'am." Sasuke said as he moved into a formal bow.

Tsunade nodded back to him, "Good evening little Uchiha." Tsunade said in a friendly manner as Naruto came to a stop at their side.

Sasuke nodded as Shizune's eyes widened, 'This is the last Uchiha? He's just a boy!' she thought in shock.

Naruto held up the seal, "Can you check my Seal Kaa-san?" he asked cheerily.

Tsunade ruffled the boy's hair with one hand as she took the seal, placing it in her hand as she sent her chakra through it.

*POOF*

Tsunade and Shizune smiled as the kunai appeared with no trouble, "Good work Naruto-chan!" Tsunade said as she ruffled her boy's hair.

Sasuke watched the family interaction with tightness in his brow, 'Family…' Sasuke thought sadly before looking off to the side.

"So Sasuke," Tsunade began, causing the boy to look up at her, "What are you doing for dinner tonight?" she asked as she walked over to the boy.

Naruto raised a brow questioningly towards his sister figure, "What's going on?" Naruto whispered.

Shizune knelt down next to Naruto, "I didn't realise this kid was the last Uchiha Naruto, why didn't you tell me?" she asked.

Naruto raised a brow, "Last?" he asked as he looked over to Sasuke, adding that piece of information to his mental file on Sasuke.

Shizune nodded, glancing over to Tsunade for a moment before kneeling in close to Naruto, "Hey listen, keep what I said just now quiet alright?" she asked.

Naruto nodded, confusion covering his face as he smiled up at his sister, "Okay Nee-chan, but can someone explain it to me later?" Naruto whispered back.

Shizune smiled and nodded as she stood tall again, "Yeah I promise." She said as she began to lead Naruto over to Tsunade and Sasuke.

Tsunade turned to Naruto with a smile, "Hey Naruto-chan, Sasuke here is gonna join us for dinner tonight along with a few other people, so I want you on your best behaviour, got it?" she said as Naruto came to a stop next to her.

He smiled to Sasuke before looking up at Tsunade once more, "Sounds fun mom!" Naruto exclaimed cheerily.

##########

"This sucks." Naruto grumbled as he pulled on the belt of his uncomfortable formal-wear, trying to loosen it from it's stranglehold around his waist.

Sasuke chuckled, still in his academy clothes, though Tsunade had a plain white haori that he wore over his clothes, "Deal with it." Sasuke replied.

"Boys!" Tsunade called, waving for them to come inside the new Senju household.

Naruto and Sasuke approached the house as Naruto looked over it again with a grin on his face. The new Senju house was a two storey building connected to an indoor training area sitting under another apartment-like house. Naruto's room was in the private apartment section which had its own bathroom, bedroom and lounge room connected to a balcony over the entryway. The house was within a few minutes walking distance to the Konoha Arena and the clan houses of the Aburame and Hyuuga.

Naruto's grin faded to a happy smile as he hopped up the two steps onto the entryway. He and Sasuke kicked off their shoes to put on some house slippers, but other than that and their clothing there wasn't much else that seemed formal about the occasion.

Walking inside, Sasuke got Naruto's attention and nodded to Tsunade, telling him to go up to her, which he did as he smiled up at Tsunade, "Kaa-san, we were wondering, who are the people that are coming over tonight?" Naruto asked.

Tsunade raised a brow before glancing at Shizune, who was helping a maid set the table for everyone, "You didn't tell them?" Tsunade asked.

Shizune frowned at her sensei, "You haven't told me." She grumbled.

Tsunade blinked before scratching the back of her head sheepishly, "Oh, well tonight we're having a few guests as you seem to have guessed. To start off there's two classmates of yours, Hinata Hyuuga and Shino Aburame are attending along with their fathers, both of which are clan heads." Tsunade started as she led the boys over to the lounge room.

Sasuke nodded as Naruto replied, "Yeah mom, Shino's cool, but I'm not a hundred percent sure I know who Hinata is…" Naruto mumbled.

Tsunade chuckled as she glanced at the table, thinking about the others who were attending, "We also have the Hokage coming tonight and last but not least, my old teammate Jiraiya, though he will be late, that is, if he makes it back tonight in the first place." Tsunade said with a small smile.

Sasuke blinked owlishly, 'Two clan heads, two Sannin and the Hokage himself… I need to stay around all these people with power.' Sasuke thought as he did his best to blend with the shadows in the corner of the room.

*Knock Knock*

Tsunade glanced over at the door before grabbing a long brown robe that she threw around her shoulders, adjusting it so that the Senju clan symbol was shown across her back, though she sighed as she realised that her massive chest wouldn't let her close the robe over her front.

"Tsunade-sama?" the one maid they had asked, standing near the door already even though she had yet to receive the order.

Tsunade blinked, remembering that everything in the house ran only on her orders now, "Ugh, right. Let them in Tsubaki." Tsunade said before walking over to the lounge room, grabbing the shocked Sasuke and moving him to stand next to Naruto before she organised the two of them so that they were standing side by side in front of Shizune.

Naruto and Sasuke shared a glance of discomfort at being shoved so close together, but they straightened up as Tsunade smiled politely to the first arrivals, "Shibi, welcome!" Tsunade said, happy to see the man she knew as a child.

Shibi nodded to his old sensei, "Good evening Sensei," Shibi said simply before gesturing to his side, "My son, Shino." He introduced.

Tsunade smirked slightly, only now remembering how funny she found the Aburame's ways, and how she loved to mess with them.

Tsunade patted Shino on the head as the two Aburame walked through the entryway, causing him to twitch slightly, though he otherwise seemed to be ignoring that the action even occurred. Tsunade then pulled Shibi into a hug, though he surprised her by hugging back with one arm, "It is very good to see you again sensei." Shibi said, his quiet voice seeming slightly pained to her ears.

She stepped away with a frown, knowing instantly that Shibi's fear had come to fruition as it was the only thing that made him come out from his emotionless shell. She looked down at Shino once more, who was looking at Naruto and Sasuke blankly in his normal outfit.

Tsunade cleared her throat lightly, "Naruto-chan, take your classmates to your room yeah? Show them the hospitality you'd show anyone." Tsunade said with a smile as in the background, Tsubaki the maid went to close the door but someone outside caught her attention.

"Oh! Hiashi-sama!"

Naruto paused from leading the two boys from the room as everyone looked over to the doorway. Tsunade smiled polity at the man who nodded to the maid in recognition, "Good evening Tsunade-chan." Hiashi said in his usual blank expression.

Tsunade nodded to him, "Welcome Hiashi, and this is Hinata right?" Tsunade asked, kneeling down so that she was at Hinata's level.

Hinata glanced up at Tsunade timidly, causing Tsunade's expression to soften as she near instantly saw Hinata's softness, 'What's caused this girl to retreat so far into solidarity? It's best I treat her like I did Naruto when we first met.' Tsunade thought as she offered her hand in a friendly gesture.

Hinata looked at Tsunade's hand in shock before looking up at her father, "Accept all that she offers you Hinata." Hiashi ordered, his gaze blank as Hinata seemed to jolt from being addressed directly from her father.

"G-Good evening Ts-Tsunade-sama." Hinata stuttered out as she shook Tsunade's offered hand.

Tsunade smiled softly, holding Hinata's hand until the girl looked at her in the eyes, "It's wonderful to meet you Hinata-chan, tell me, how are you finding the academy?" Tsunade asked calmly in a soothing voice.

Naruto smirked, earning a look from Sasuke, "What?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke merely folded his arms in annoyance as Shino readjusted his glasses, "Sasuke-san is curious as to why you were smirking at their interaction, if I may inquire for the same answer, it would be appreciated." Shino said calmly to Naruto.

Sasuke merely nodded in agreement.

Naruto chuckled, "Kaa-san always says that the best way to get someone to open up with them is the three connections," Naruto said as he nodded to Tsunade and Hinata's entwined fingers, "Physical," the direct eye contact, "Visual," and the last one, "Emotional." Naruto finished, seeing Tsunade's somewhat personal question.

Hinata blinked as she held Tsunade's gaze, "I-it's umm, alright, I guess." Hinata replied.

Tsunade nodded and smiled, using her other hand to brush back Hinata's hair from covering her eyes, "I'm sure you could use more of a challenge, oh but I didn't notice how cute you are!" Tsunade said with a grin, before making sure that Hinata was staring right into her eyes, "You look as beautiful as your mother was."

Hinata's eyes widened, "M-mother?" she asked in shock.

"That's enough." Hiashi said sternly.

Tsunade knew she had done enough, so she stood as she put herself between Hiashi and Hinata, causing the man to blush slightly as her chest pressed against his arm, "Oh come on Hiashi," she said, using the moment of silence to move Hinata forwards lightly, glancing over at the boys near the hallway.

Naruto grinned at the glance that Tsunade sent him, "Hey Hinata! I wanna show you guys something, come on!" he said loudly.

Shibi and Hiashi merely watched as Hinata nearly jumped before moving over to the boys quickly. Though Shizune raised a brow as she took a look over everyone in the room, 'Tsunade-sama has very quickly separated the kids from the adults; I guess she won't need my help after all.' Shizune thought as she set the sixth place setting.

Naruto placed a friendly hand on the now blushing Hinata's shoulder, leading her down the hallway towards his little flat over the training room, "Are you guys hungry? Or thirsty?" Naruto asked as he opened the door, stepping to the side to allow the three of his classmates through.

Hinata looked around in appreciation as did Sasuke, though Shino had no reaction at the small flat as he replied to Naruto, "A drink would be very much appreciated." Shino said as he walked across the flat to what appeared to be a small balcony.

Naruto walked over to his little bar fridge in the small kitchenette area, lifting out a jug of cold water and placing it on a tray before moving over to the cupboards, "Sasuke? Hinata? What about you guys?" he asked.

Sasuke nodded, "Sure." He said simply before seeing what had Shino's attention and moving to stand by the bug user.

Hinata nodded, "Y-yes please Naruto-kun." She said softly.

Naruto turned from placing the cups on the tray with the jug of water and carried the tray over to Shino and Sasuke, talking to Hinata as he passed her, "Would you mind getting the door for me Hinata?" he asked with a smile.

Hinata nodded quickly and moved to grab the door, letting Naruto lead the way onto the small balcony and letting the other two boys go before her before she followed them out, looking up at the view for the first time, "Wow…" she whispered in awe.

Naruto smirked as his three guests looked up at the Hokage's mountain, "Yeah, pretty great view huh?" Naruto said before placing the tray down on a little coffee table, "Come take a seat guys." Naruto said as he sat on the left side of a two seater outdoor couch.

Sasuke and Shino quickly sat in the two single chairs before Hinata sat next to Naruto on the couch, "Naruto, if I may, for what reason were we brought to this dinner meeting considering we are of little significance at this current point in time?" Shino asked.

Naruto shared a humoured glance with Sasuke as he thought of an answer, "Well, if I'm being honest I don't really see it as too big of a deal considering some… stuff." Naruto started before lifting his glass.

The others copied him as Hinata decided to ask for more information, "Umm, Naruto-kun, you didn't r-really answer the question…" she said softly.

Naruto just chuckled once before nodding, "Alright then, Kaa-san asked me to tell only the people who need to know, and I guess all you guys classify as such." Naruto said before lifting his hands up into a standard ram seal.

Sasuke raised a brow as Naruto's chakra sparked, 'He's casting some kind of Genjutsu?' Sasuke thought as Naruto's voice rang out.

"KAI!"

*POOF*

In a plume of smoke, Naruto sat in the same spot as before, though now his Genjutsu was gone as he kept his left eye shut.

Hinata and Sasuke stared at the new Naruto in confusion and shock as Shino merely nodded, "I see, you are an adopted son of Tsunade's. Why is it that you two have decided to keep your identity a secret?" Shino asked.

The newly unmasked Naruto smirked, 'I have to tell them about that and the Sharingan, but I think that's it…' Naruto thought before speaking, "It's for the matter of my own safety apparently, you see, Kaa-san saved my life a long time ago and gave me a special eye to replace the one that was…taken." Naruto explained.

Sasuke suddenly felt a foreboding feeling as he stared at Naruto's closed eye, "What makes the eye special?" Hinata asked quietly.

Naruto looked at Sasuke for a moment of silence, "It's the eye of an ex ANBU member who belonged to a now nearly extinct clan. He was known as Shisui of the Shunshin, but his actual name, was Shisui Uchiha." Naruto explained, opening his eye and letting the three in front of him see the crimson red orb.

Sasuke was frozen still as he stared at Naruto's Sharingan eye, 'No wonder Naruto is so strong, he has been blessed with the gift of my bloodline!' Sasuke thought before smirking, believing that it was only thanks to his clan that Naruto had any power, though he couldn't look at the eye, feeling a large amount of jealousy welling up inside when he did.

Hinata's eyes widened in shock at the revelation, "B-but wouldn't that be a massive drain on your body and chakra Naruto-kun?" she asked.

Naruto shrugged, "Yeah it was when I was younger, but I guess I've gotten used to it from over using it." Naruto said with a smile.

"Naruto, how is it that Shisui's eye came to you?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto blinked at Sasuke before looking up, "Ugh, I don't know, I never thought to ask." Naruto said honestly.

Sasuke looked down for a moment as he clenched his fist, "Shisui… he was my cousin, like another brother to me." Sasuke began, glaring at the ground intensely.

Shino placed a hand on Sasuke's shoulder, shocking the young teen with the contact, "Sasuke-san. I believe that Naruto here may hold the secret to you unlocking the Sharingan." Shino said, causing everyone to look at him with wide eyes.

"Wh-what do you mean Sh-Shino-kun?" Hinata asked timidly.

Shino glanced at her as Sasuke looked at Naruto with an unreadable expression, "The core of the Uchiha Clan's skills is their ability to copy and memorise. I theorise along with many others that the potential for such a skill lies in you before the chakra takes form of the Sharingan eye, therefore I conclude that if Naruto and you were to have a physically draining spar while he stared at you with that eye it may produce your own Sharingan through copying the doujutsu itself." Shino explained.

Naruto blinked at that, 'Huh, I'm not even sure if I understood that...' He thought in confusion.

Sasuke nodded and stood, "Naruto..." Sasuke began, obviously not sure what to say.

Naruto just gave a thumbs up, "Well, umm, if Shino thinks it'll help you then yeah sure I'll do what I can..." Naruto started before an idea popped into his head, "I know! Why don't the four of us train together for this next week until we're assigned jobs as ninja? Sasuke is starting on the extra credit stuff so if I get you guys to do it too then we'll all be top of the class!" Naruto exclaimed.

Sasuke smirked, thinking that he was ahead of Hinata and Shino, who shared a blank look before Hinata spoke softly, "Ano, Shino-kun and I have learned Alternate Ch-Chakra types from a young age since we're from clans." She said barely above a whisper.

"And the storage seal?" Naruto asked.

Hinata looked down sadly as Shino took the cue to speak, "I am capable of writing the seal in under a five minutes and Hinata will be at the same level if not better by the end of this week." Shino said surely.

Hinata blushed, "Ano, I'm not s-sure about that..." She said nervously.

"I am." Shino said surely.

Before Hinata could say anything else, they heard a light knocking back inside. Naruto stuck his head in the open door as his Genjutsu shimmered into existence without a single hand seal, "Hey Tsubaki." Naruto said with a grin.

The maid let herself in and approached the balcony door, "Tsunade-sama's other guests have arrived and started dinner, would you like me to bring your portion of the feast here for you and your friends to enjoy?" She asked with a smile.

Naruto grinned as he stood up, "Yeah that sounds cool," he said before glancing at his new friends, all three of them staring curiously at Naruto's re-emerged Genjutsu facade, "You guys good with that?" he asked with a smile.

##########

Chapter end.

Surprise Chapter Two! I'm kinda surprised how much popularity this got so quickly, PM's are rolling in :)

Next chapter will be the next major changes to this version of _Naruto._

Hope ya'll enjoy it, Please R&amp;R.

(P.s. Shout out to Jeremy, get back to work bro.)


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three: Gennin exams, A friend in need.

Shizune held up a stopwatch for the four in front of her to see, "Ready everyone?" She asked.

Naruto nodded as he lifted his hands to form a basic hand seal, "Ready Nee-chan!" he exclaimed.

Sasuke formed the same seal and merely nodded.

Shino merely lifted his hands out of his jacket pockets.

Hinata formed two hand seals before holding a third.

"GO!" Shizune exclaimed as she clicked the button on top of the watch.

"SUBSTITUTION JUTSU!"

All four academy students disappeared in a puff of smoke, replacing themselves with a Log before they all jumped into the clearing again while forming hand seals.

"TRANSFORMATION JUTU!"

After another puff of smoke, Shizune was surrounded by four copies of her, Shizune looked over all of them with a sharp eye for a full second before nodding, allowing the three of them to form hand seals once more.

"CLONE JUTSU!"

"INSECT CLONE JUTSU!"

Shizune nodded as Sasuke, Hinata, and Shino's clones popped into existence, though she frowned at the seven dud-clones that Naruto barely managed to produce, the four hesitated for a moment, "Don't stop! Keep going!" Shizune ordered.

The four moved a few steps closer to Shizune to stop next to each of their individual ink-pots, quickly kneeling to write out the storage seal. In fifteen seconds, Naruto finished his seal and sealsedthe ink pot into it. In twenty-seven seconds, Hinata finished with Sasuke only a few seconds behind her. Shino was the last to finish at forty seconds exactly.

The moment Shino finished, he stood up, that being the signal that they all begun a Ninjutsu to show their use of an Alternate Chakra Type. Shino's was the fastest to activate considering his bug clone just lost it's form and flew back into Shino's body.

Hinata made a single handed seal, "BYAKUGAN!" she exclaimed, showing her bloodline as an Alternate.

Sasuke was the first one to turn away from the group as he formed a quick series of well practised hand seals, "FIRE STYLE: FIREBALL JUTSU!"

Naruto turned as well, his cheeks bulging as he felt the chakra build up in his throat, "NINJA ART: POISON FOG JUTSU!"

*Click*

The academy kids turned to a smiling Shizune, "In total, seventy eight seconds." Shizune said before showing them the face of the watch, "Yeah I'd say you're ready. You guys are basically guaranteed to pass!" She said to the group.

Sasuke smirked confidently while Shino nodded. Though Hinata looked over worriedly at Naruto, who was looking over at the only deformed clone that still was in existence, 'Naruto-kun still can't do the clones...what do we do?' she thought, hoping to find a way to help her new friend in some way.

Shizune pocketed the stop watch, "Okay guys! That covers all the academy stuff I think, you looking forward to the first tests tomorrow?" She asked.

Sasuke raised a brow, "It's only the written tests." he said.

Shino nodded in agreement, "It would be quite shocking that we'd be looking forward to a test. Why? Because it's a seemingly unnecessary challenge that we've taken part in hundreds of times in the academy." He explained.

Shizune just smiled at the boy, 'What am I supposed to say to that?' she thought before waving it off, "Maaaah, y'know what I mean. Good luck tomorrow and maybe I'll see you when you're all gennin?" she asked hopefully.

Sasuke and Hinata instantly nodded while Shino tilted his head, "It would be unlikely, as you are a Tokubetsu Jonin the odds of working together is minimal at this point in time." Shino said calmly.

Shizune just sighed and decided to annoy Shino by hugging him to shut him up, "Okay Shino-kun." she said as she shut him up by shoving his face into her chest, it worked.

Sasuke bowed politely, "Thanks sensei." Sasuke said simply before he began to walk off home.

Shizune frowned as she placed Shino back on his feet, causing the bug user's eyebrows to stay in a permanent furrow as he began to march off after Sasuke.

Shizune turned to Hinata only to see her still watching Naruto, and that he had only just managed to focus enough to dispel the illusion that was the clone, causing him to sigh before he turned back, seeing Hinata and Shizune watching him, "What?" he asked before smiling and pretending there was nothing wrong.

Hinata shook her head, "N-nothing! I was just umm," she paused for a moment before nodding in the general direction his clones were in, "Wondering how much progress you've made w-with your back-up plan?" She asked quietly.

Shizune smiled softly at that while Naruto grinned, "Yeah! Kaa-san is gonna get me started tomorrow afternoon on this other clone thing. I'll be ready for the practical exam in three days, believe it!" He promised with a smile so wide that his eyes were forced shut.

Shizune's gaze suddenly turned to a glare, "Naruto!" she exclaimed.

Hinata and Naruto both jumped at her shout, making his smile fade as he saw Shizune's angry and hurt gaze, Naruto looked down at his feet, "Sorry Nee-chan." he said softly.

Shizune smiled and walked over to Naruto, hugging him softly, "It's okay Naruto, just stop doing that please? You don't need to hide yourself from your friends and you promised you'd never hide behind _that_ mask around Tsunade-sama or me." She said softly.

Hinata blinked in confusion, "A-ano, what's wrong?" she asked timidly.

Naruto stepped away from Shizune and shook his head, "N-Nothing really Hinata, I just umm, just a moment of weakness on my part." Naruto said with a small but very much real smile.

Hinata smiled too and nodded.

"Hinata-sama."

The three of them turned to see someone who was obviously a Hyuuga, "Kenta-san." Hinata said with a polite bow.

Kenta smiled softly, very much grateful for the timid and now worn out Hinata, "Hiashi-sama was expecting you to be home nearly an hour ago." He lied.

Hinata paled drastically, "W-W-what?" she asked before she looked to Shizune, "I-I have to go Sensei, Naruto-kun." she said before running off, Kenta staying in her shadow as they sprinted towards the back gate of the new Senju complex.

Naruto watched on with an odd foreboding feeling as she disappeared, 'Get home safely Hinata-chan.' Naruto thought to himself before looking up at Shizune, "Sorry about before Nee-chan, I still get nervous and it just happens I guess." He said with a shrug.

Shizune sighed, "Well, you know what your punishment is." she said with a smile as she folded her arms.

Naruto groaned, "But I don't wanna bathe Tonton!"

#########

"Goodnight Naruto-kun, you don't have to wait up for Tsunade-sama you know." Shizune said with her head sticking out Naruto's balcony door.

The little blonde looked up at her and smiled, "I know, but I want to," he said before sinking further into his chair, "It's nice here too." he said absent-mindedly.

Shizune smiled at him, 'Sometimes he acts so much older than he is.' she thought as he turned and smiled to her again.

"Night Nee-chan."

"Night Naruto-kun."

Naruto smiled politely as Shizune walked away, though the moment she closed the door behind her, Naruto's expression became one of intense focus as he looked at the Hokage monument again, 'Shisui Uchiha...' Naruto thought as he closed his normal eye, his Sharingan morphing slowly as he began to pant heavily.

#########

_Flashback_

"_It really is cool y'know?" I said as I turned to my friend._

_Itachi merely nodded, "You just want your face on the mountainside. I don't see why, being Hokage means you're mostly stuck in that office doing paperwork."_

_I couldn't hold back my laugh at that, "C'mon Itachi, I know you're still a kid but you're way smarter then that!" Itachi looked at me with a blank expression, then his brow furrowed, "Seriously? You don't get it?" I couldn't believe it!_

_Itachi just raised a brow at me, "Dude, out of everyone I thought you would've known," I started before feeling that this was quite important. I leant closer to ensure he was actually focussed on me, "To become Hokage, you have to be the fastest, the strongest and above all, the most giving." I told him._

_Itachi looked forward at the Hokage monument, "The most giving... I don't understand." he said simply._

_I couldn't hold in my sigh, "Itachi, what you willing to give for this village?" I asked him._

_Something in him changed._

_I saw it, I felt it. He looked exactly the same, but his aura was different, his presence was different. This is what he was like before they pulled him out of the ANBU program..._

"_I would give my life and as many of the enemy's as necessary to ensure Konohagakure will stay peaceful."_

_Shit, I believed him._

#########

Naruto gasped as his Mangekyou faded back to a normal Sharingan, causing him to put a hand over his eye in pain, 'This Shisui was an interesting guy. And to think he knew Sasuke and Itachi too.' Naruto thought to himself as he closed his Sharingan eye.

"Have fun with that?"

Naruto looked to his right to see a tired looking Tsunade had at some point sat next to him and poured her own drink from his bottle, "Not really Kaa-san, it hurts when I activate the next stage, but as long as I don't try any special stuff with it it won't stop working for me right?" Naruto asked.

Tsunade sighed, "Well, basically yes, but there's so much more to it then that Naruto-chan." she said tiredly as she slumped further into the chair.

Naruto tilted his head as he sat up and looked at her, "Kaa-san, what's with all the blood?" he asked.

Tsunade looked down at her shirt and closed her eyes to suppress the urge to throw up, "Just as I was leaving work..." she glanced at Naruto, "...a young girl came in with a cut that travelled from just below her jugular to the top of her pelvic region. There was also large amounts of bruising all over the body... it was rough." she said with a shake of her head.

Naruto scowled as his fists clench, "Dammit." Naruto muttered angrily.

Tsunade shook her head, "Yeah, it was pretty brutal." she said with a sigh.

Naruto felt the tears form in his eyes before he could do anything about it. He wiped his eyes clear as he glared off to the side, "When you say... pelvic region..." Naruto said as her words began to click in his mind.

Tsunade just nodded, "Yeah, exactly what you think. This is one of the reasons I hate ninjas sometimes, they just use their power to get what they want, regardless of the consequences." She said with a scowl.

Naruto pouted, sad that his mother had to go through seeing all that she had, but even more sad for the people that had already suffered. He looked around, trying to gain inspiration for a subject change before he suddenly remembered something, "Really sorry to hear that Kaa-san, but I kinda have a problem to attend to and I was hoping you'd be able to help me quickly?" Naruto asked.

Tsunade blinked tiredly, but smiled happily at the chance to help out, "Sure, what do you need?" Tsunade asked as she placed her drink down, pulling herself up into a more comfortable position.

Naruto smiled as he turned to Tsunade, "Well you know how Iruka-sensei said that I might have a Chakra mutation from our bloodline? I was wondering how we can check, cause as much as I've read, I can't think of a way to activate it without knowing already what I'm trying to activate." Naruto said as he scratched the back of his head.

Tsunade looked up in thought, "Good point, that is how they did it in the old days, but now if a person is good enough at being a medic, they know how to channel a patient's chakra into a physical state for analysis." Tsunade explained.

Naruto's brow furrowed, "A physical state... you mean like those Chakra Crystals?" Naruto asked, remembering once when he observed Tsunade helping analyse one of the chakra poisons one of the next generation of slugs had begun to excrete. She had extracted a purple cloud of chakra before it compressed into a tiny purple crystal so that Tsunade could touch it. Then after chipping off a small chunk, Tsunade was able to analyse it under a proper microscope.

Tsunade nodded, "Exactly like those Chakra Crystals, but while in the medical environment they're called...?" She asked, hoping Naruto would be able to answer.

Naruto merely blinked with a sheepish smile, showing that he hadn't come across the term before.

Tsunade smirked, "Gems, just gems." She explained.

Naruto nodded as he recorded the words to memory, 'Gems, huh...' Naruto thought before holding a hand out to Tsunade, "So, can you do mine and see if I have one?" he asked.

Tsunade tilted her head in thought, "I can, but only if you apply for an in-village Ninja Medic License after you graduate." Tsunade offered.

Naruto frowned, knowing that before he'd been complaining about how if he registered, they might start assigning him shifts in the hospital, but a part of his mind flashed to the girl that may have been assaulted, 'If it's to help people like her, people who really need it...' Naruto thought as he looked up to meet his mother's eyes with a nod, "Yeah, I'll register as a medic-nin." Naruto promised.

Tsunade tilted her head as she looked at the determination in Naruto's eyes and his outstretched hand, she smiled as she sent chakra to her pointer finger and took Naruto's hand into her own, "Here we go, just send some chakra into your hand." She said as she put her pointer finger in the middle of Naruto's palm.

Naruto's face twitched at the small sting of pain, but he continued channelling chakra to his palm before Tsunade pressed her finger a little harder, "Ow!" Naruto exclaimed as he pulled his hand back in slight pain, the wound glowing green as he channelled his already stored medical chakra to the wound.

"Perfect." Tsunade said as she held up a small crystal into the light on Naruto's balcony.

Naruto looked up at the Gem with a smile, "Cool, how long do you think it'll take to find out?" Naruto asked.

Tsunade casually dropped the Gem into the valley of her breasts, causing Naruto to sigh as he knew that meant he'd never get it back as she spoke, "About a week, but forget about that." Tsunade said as she felt the dried blood move uncomfortably as it was soaked and now dried into her clothes. She held back some bile as she took a deep breath with her mouth, only to have a flash of the bloody academy girl she had looked after enter her mind, 'Nope, I won't be sleeping tonight.' Tsunade thought with a sigh before turning to Naruto and deciding to be productive, "So Naru-chan, how about we get started on that clone technique tonight?" she asked.

Naruto grinned, "We get to start early? Yes!" Naruto asked in excitement, 'One more jutsu on my path to becoming gennin!' Naruto thought excitedly.

Tsunade smiled softly as she watched Naruto look up at the Hokage mountains with a grin. Her eyes grew soft as she looked at Minato's face, seeing the resemblance with Naruto when he had his Genjutsu inactive. With it active, he basically looked like a mini-male Tsunade. Tsunade's smile dropped as she stood, feeling the grind of dried blood in her clothes, "Meet you in the training room soon okay? I'm just gonna change clothes first." She said before walking inside.

Naruto nodded and sprung to his feet as he grabbed the leftover drinks and glasses from his balcony, bringing them inside and placing them on his bench for Tsubaki to grab for washing later, "Kaa-san! Do I wear the restricting bracelet?" he asked as she opened his door.

Tsunade glanced over her shoulder at Naruto and shook her head, "Nah, this is like producing medical chakra, you'll need all the focus you can get initially, but once you get the hang of it, then you can try with the bracelet." Tsunade said as she stepped out.

Naruto ran into his room to get ready for some late night training, though as he went to put on his training robe, he realised the time, "Oh yeah, I gotta take them off for the night now." Naruto mumbled to himself as he lifted his foot onto a chair.

Naruto reached up his pants and undid two clasps, taking off the small set of weights from his first leg before lifting up his other one and doing the same. Naruto stretched his legs out a couple of times before nodding to himself and stretching tall with a yawn.

As he yawned, Naruto's mind flashed to the expression of sick-disgust that Tsunade showed when she had looked down at the blood on her clothes, 'Kaa-san will have nightmares again if she sleeps tonight,' he thought with a sad smile, 'But at least that means we get to train til tomorrow, our training nights always seem to cheer her up a little.' Naruto thought before turning to his wardrobe.

Pulling out his Training Robe, Naruto began to get changed as he thought about what the training would be like that night.

##########

_Three Days Later..._

##########

Naruto sat into his chair and leant back with a wide yawn before looking around the academy classroom, 'Still no Hinata...' Naruto thought in worry as he looked at the empty seat in front of him next to Shino.

"You think she'll make it?" Naruto asked the person next to him.

Sasuke seemed to snap back into focus as if he'd been daydreaming, "Hn?" he asked with a raised brow.

Naruto rolled his eyes, "Hinata hasn't been to train with us for a few days and she hasn't been here at the academy either, if she doesn't show up today she won't even be able to get her ninja license." Naruto explained.

Sasuke blinked before glancing at the empty chair and then looking towards the clock, "If you really cared so much why don't you go check at her compound? We still have an hour until free period is up and the test begins." Sasuke suggested, not really believing that Naruto would.

Naruto looked out the window as the same foreboding feeling from a few nights earlier set in, 'How come I feel like Hinata's been...I dunno, something...' Naruto thought.

At the sound of a chair scraping across the ground, the two looked forward to see Shino had stood up, "Unfortunately my curiosity and concern has overthrown my need to abide by the rules," Shino said calmly as he turned to Naruto, "I will come with you, I know the way." Shino said before marching off towards the classroom door.

Naruto blinked at Shino before standing and nodding, "Yeah, right behind ya Shino." Naruto said as he quickly followed, the two boys leaving the room in a matter of seconds.

Sasuke blinked as the two left before sighing as he was suddenly surrounded by the fangirls once more, 'Damn...' Sasuke thought with a sigh before trying to zone out, looking at the wall at the front of the classroom.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed as he watched the 'Seconds' hand on the clockface, causing Sasuke to scowl, 'That clock's frozen...' he thought before realising something, 'That means those two don't know! Shit, what time is it?' Sasuke thought as he stood, looking around the room for another clock.

##########

Shino and Naruto jumped from building to building, moving as fast as they could towards the Hyuuga complex. After a few minutes though, Shino glanced towards Naruto calmly, "Naruto, I was curious as to why you find it important for Hinata to at least be there to try. As you have not known her long, it seems illogical for you to risk being late for the gennin exam for her." Shino said, asking in his weird way.

Naruto merely shrugged, "It's my duty as a medical ninja to make sure my comrades are at top health, and how can I be expected to look after people in real life situations if I don't even try?" Naruto said before looking ahead and smiling slightly, "Besides, she's one of the first friends I've ever made, along with you and Sasuke." Naruto said with a growing smile.

Shino nodded in reply before turning to their right and making one last massive leap, "You are the third human I could call... friend." Shino said quietly, agreeing with Naruto's motives.

Naruto nodded as the two came to a stop at the front of two large gates. Shino stepped forward and bowed politely, "Good morning, we are here to ensure Hinata makes it to the academy in time for the gennin exams." Shino said without coming out from his bow.

Naruto watched as both of the Hyuuga guards looked at each other uncomfortably. There was a few moments of silence before the Hyuuga on their left sighed, "Welcome Shino-san, but Hinata-sama went through some stuff a few days ago and has yet to recover mentally. Her father has said that none are to see her." he explained.

Shino stood from his bow and then did nothing. Causing the Hyuuga men to stare at him expectantly as he tried to calmly think of a way to get to Hinata.

"Can we leave a message for her then?"

The two Hyuuga men and Shino turned to Naruto as he took a step forward, "Listen up, my name is Naruto Senju and I need to tell her some things. If I write it down can you give her the message?" Naruto asked.

The men looked at each other for a moment in thought before the one who hadn't spoken yet nodded, "I guess so..." he muttered.

Shino watched as Naruto reached into his ninja pouch and pulled out a notepad. He began writing on it as quick as he could before scribbling it out and tearing the page away. After starting again, Naruto smiled before coming to a pause in his writing and glancing at Shino and smiling wider and finishing the note.

Passing the note to the first of the two gate guards, Naruto bowed politely, "I know it might not seem like much to you guys, but even though it's not a clan practice, Hinata really tried hard to get this far at the academy," Naruto began before standing, "Please, I don't want my friend to miss something this important and regret it later."

The two guards looked at each other as Naruto stepped back by Shino's side and turned away, a moment later and Shino did the same before the two of them walked off.

After a few minutes of walking, they entered the first portion of the shopping district, meaning that they were nearing half-way of their walk back. But they came to a stop as Naruto stared at the sign of a nearby shop, "Umm, Shino?" Naruto asked.

Shino looked back, "Yes?" he asked.

Naruto pointed up at the large clock that was part of the sign, "What time does that say?" Naruto asked calmly, just in case he had misread it.

Shino turned his head and looked at the clock, "...We're late."

##########

"Now when you say 'Alternate' you mean...?"

Iruka facepalmed, "We've been through this Sasuke, what's with the 20Questions all of a sudden?" Iruka rhetorically asked.

Sasuke sat coolly in his desk, trying to keep his face blank as everyone stared at him in shock, though he wasn't sure if it was because that was the fifth time he'd asked that question, the fact he'd been asking the same repetitive questions for almost twenty minutes, or the fact that he was talking so much, "Well you haven't given me a sufficient enough answer yet so..." Sasuke muttered.

Iruka sighed and looked to the other teacher, "Are you experiencing the same thing I am right now? I think I'm going nuts!" Iruka exclaimed.

Mizuki just shrugged, "I...think so?" he asked.

*BAM*

Everyone turned as the classroom door slammed open and Naruto charged inside, "MADE IT!" he shouted before falling flat on his face.

Shino jogged in a few seconds later, merely breathing heavily as he surveyed the room. Seeing that everyone was staring at him, an experience he literally had never had before, he just took two slow steps over to an empty desk in the front row and took a seat.

Naruto pushed himself into an upright position and chuckled nervously, "Umm, sorry for being late, have you guys started?" Naruto asked as he scratched the back of his head.

The classroom was quiet for a moment until Sasuke cleared his throat, "I get it now Sensei, thanks." Sasuke said with a calm smirk.

Iruka just blinked owlishly as Naruto retreated to an empty seat next to Sasuke before sharing a bewildered look with Mizuki, who just shrugged back at him, 'Weirdest graduation day ever.' Iruka thought to himself as he lifted up a clipboard.

"Alright, if there are no more questions..." Iruka started as he pointedly staring at Sasuke as if daring him, "Then let's get started, just like with the practice tests okay? I call your name and we take you next door." Iruka explained as he pointed to the adjoined examination room.

"Okay, up first, Shino Aburame."

##########

*Knock Knock*

"Hinata-sama?"

Hinata rolled over in her bed to face the door. Her room was dark as the blinds were drawn completely, she wore her plain grey pyjama bottoms and a white tank top over a long series of bandages wrapped around her torso. Her entire frame covered by a thin sheet as her emotionless eyes were drawn to the crack in the door, "Yes?" She asked weakly.

The Hyuuga branch woman stepped into the room and closed the door behind her as she came to kneel next to Hinata's bed. Since the incident with Kenta Hyuuga, the man who saw Hinata's uncertainty about using the Caged Bird Seal and used it for his sick personal pleasure, Hinata had barely eaten enough to survive and hadn't left her room. Though according to her counsellor, that wasn't too surprising since she had just been raped, cut and beaten.

Feeling a touch on her cold hand, Hinata recoiled as she begun to listen to what the Branch member was saying, "Sorry?" Hinata asked.

The woman sighed, "Hinata-sama, a blonde boy who called himself Naruto left a note for you at the gate. He really wanted to know how you were Hinata-sama." She said pleadingly.

Hinata looked at the note as it was placed on the pillow next to her head, 'Naruto?' she thought as the Hyuuga woman moved around to the other side of the bed.

As she opened the blinds, Hinata reached up and unfolded the paper as she began to read with the help from the sun light...

##########

"Naruto Senju." Mizuki said as he stuck his head out the open door.

Naruto stood up and marched down the steps confidently. Though Sasuke and Shino both doubted his certainty since they had yet to see him perform the clone technique.

Naruto closed the door behind him as Mizuki took his seat again. Iruka begun talking the moment the door was shut, "So Naruto, are you applying for the extra credit marks?" Iruka asked.

Naruto nodded and raised his hand as it glowed green, "Medical chakra, an Alternate chakra type." Naruto said calmly before stepping over to the line of tables against the side of the room.

Mizuki and Iruka watched as Naruto unrolled a blank scroll to the first section and lifted the ink brush from the pot in front of him. Naruto got to work and in around thirty seconds, had calmly produced a Storage Seal. Naruto brought the scroll over as the ink dried, placing it in front of Iruka and Mizuki before stepping back.

Iruka placed his now empty coffee cup on the seal before sending his chakra into it.

*POOF*

"Good work Naruto." Iruka said with a smile as he wrote another tick on his check list, 'At this rate even if he can't do the clone technique he'll still pass. He's the first to have gotten one hundred percent in every exam in years.' Iruka thought as he nodded to Mizuki.

The blue haired Chunnin pulled out a blunted shuriken, "Substitution, go!" Mizuki shouted as he threw the shuriken.

Without a hand seal and within a simple puff of smoke, Naruto had replaced himself with a chair that let off a thunk as the shuriken bounced off it, earning another nod from Iruka.

As Iruka took notes on his clip board, Mizuki barked out orders for the next technique, "Transformation, go!"

Naruto formed a hand seal this time to focus on the transformation.

*POOF*

Standing in Naruto's place was Tsunade Senju, a perfect replica.

Iruka and Mizuki nodded as Iruka began to take notes, "Okay, and last but not least, a clone technique." Mizuki said with a smirk, 'Now he'll fail and considering his commitment to making Tsunade happy, he'll take my back-up test for certain.' he thought secretly.

*POOF*

As the original Naruto appeared from the smoke, he was holding a Hybrid hand seal in the shape of a cross, "SHADOW CLONE JUTSU!" Naruto announced as his chakra pushed out around him.

Iruka and Mizuki's eyes widened as eight Narutos poofed into existence, surrounding the original and showing that they were solid by having them simultaneously pull out a chair each and take a seat as he smirked, "Okay guys, we're done." Naruto said casually with a grin.

Iruka blinked in shock, "Shadow clones?! How?" Iruka asked.

Naruto grinned, "Like Kaa-san explained before Sensei, my chakra is too thick for the normal clones, so now she taught me this one instead." as his clones nodded and stood, pushing the chairs back before dispelling.

As the clone smoke wafted away, Iruka stood, dropping his clipboard as he grabbed a headband from the desk, "Here's your headband Naruto, congratulations on becoming a gennin." Iruka said with a genuine smile.

Naruto grinned as he accepted the headband, "Thanks Sensei." Naruto said as he kept it in his hand and left the room.

Closing the door behind him, Naruto turned to the class and grinned as he held up his headband in victory.

##########

*SLAM*

"Hinata-sama!"

Tears fell from her eyes as she ran towards the gate of her compound, Naruto's letter clenched in her fist.

_I'm so sorry Hinata-hime, I've worked out what happened._

Hinata's Byakugan eyes spotted the Hyuuga guardsmen beginning to push the gate closed, 'I won't stay here father! I am strong enough for this!' She thought as she ran forward.

_If you remember my mother, you'll remember she helped you. As her son and your friend I always will too._

"Hinata!"

_But I can't help if you don't get up. I've seen it, you are stronger than this Hinata!_

Glancing over her shoulder, Hinata's tears picked back up as she saw her father glaring at her from his upstairs office balcony, "Stop her!" Hiashi shouted.

_Don't let that creep's actions define you, lift yourself back up to the light! _

'I'm not staying here!' Hinata thought as her tears began to slow as she watched the gate closed.

_This is your chance to become a gennin! To fulfil a six year goal you started when you entered the academy! You can't let him stop you!_

Hinata paused as a branch member tried to grab her arm, but she ducked under the arm as she sent chakra to her feet, gliding for a moment as if skating in a spin to dodge his grab.

_Please come back, come and help yourself back up onto your feet so that your friends can help you! Me, Shino and Sasuke believe in you!_

The clan stared in shock as Hinata's chakra balanced under her just like the tree climbing exercise, she pushed hard and leapt up.

_I promise, I will guide you. Naruto Senju will back you up one hundred percent!_

Hinata landed with a roll on the roof of the building opposite her clan's compound, she stood and brushed the dirt from her pyjamas quickly as she leapt onto the main road and began running, her bare feet slapping against the ground loudly as she pushed through the crowd on her way to the academy, her Byakugan showing her the way.

##########

*CHIME*

Iruka looked up at the clock and smiled as he placed his clipboard down, "Now I officially end the day's examination, congratulations everyone!" Iruka exclaimed happily.

The classroom full of new gennin cheered and began talking animatedly once the news was shared, but Naruto and Shino shared a glance before looking at the door, unfortunately not seeing Hinata. She was too late.

"Now, since you're all just graduating, you get scaled based on the overall score of your final tests," Iruka began as he lifted up his clipboard, taking off the first sheet as he began passing them out alphabetically, "Shino, you got pretty good, above average." Iruka congratulated before moving on from Aburame to Akimichi.

Mizuki stood as well as he held up his own clip board and began clapping for attention, "Alright settle down! Our last acts as your Sensei is to inform you about Ninja registration, from three onwards the registry will be open and all you have to do is go and get your photo taken and fill out a few forms. The registry will be open for the next few days so it's no rush," Mizuki said with a shrug, "But the most important thing is to come back to the academy and meet in your original class-room at nine tomorrow morning for team assignments." Mizuki explained.

They class nodded as Iruka stood next to Mizuki, "Alright, that's it then! Off you go!" Iruka said loudly.

In an instant most had vacated the room, then the remaining girls basically chased Sasuke out as they screamed for his approval.

Naruto sighed as he stood up from his chair, glancing over to the sleeping Shikamaru as Choji tried to wake him up before hearing loud footsteps.

Naruto turned and looked at the entryway from the back of the room as did Shino who was moments from walking out.

*SLAM*

"Sensei," Hinata gasped out weakly, "I-I'm here!"

Iruka looked up from his gathering of paperwork as Mizuki picked up the box with the sealing equipment, "Hinata?" Iruka asked in shock as Shikamaru woke from the loud noise.

Hinata walked up to Naruto and paused in front of him as she gripped his hand for a moment, "Thankyou," she said with a soft smile before moving a few steps closer to Iruka, "Iruka-sensei, I'm here for the gennin examination." Hinata said politely, trying to ignore the cool temperature of the classroom through her thin clothes.

Iruka sighed, "Hinata... I'm sorry but this year's tests are over, you'll have to wait until next time." Iruka said apologetically.

"Next time?!" Naruto shouted as he stood, "Screw that! Hinata is a better ninja than most of the kids you just let pass, she already IS gennin level so can't you just pretend that you haven't closed the exams yet?" Naruto pleaded.

Iruka shook his head with a sigh, "It's not that simple..." Iruka began.

"Iruka," Mizuki began as he placed down the sealing equipment, "Maybe we could just this once y'know? I mean we've both trained Hinata here for a few years now, I think you know as well as I do that she's more then capable." Mizuki said, hoping to get on Hinata's good side as he began to formulate a back-up plan.

Iruka shook his head, "No Mizuki, you know we can't do that." Iruka said softly before leaving the room.

There was a thick silence as Choji and Shikamaru tried to sneakily leave, Shino following after them as he thought it best that Hinata be left alone. If she was pissed she could hurt someone, and unlike Naruto, Shino doesn't have healing abilities.

Naruto watched Hinata from behind as her shoulders began to shake, she fell to her knees in defeat as she began to cry again, "No...No..." she said sadly between loud sobs.

Naruto was by her side in a moment, moving to hug her for comfort, but she recoiled from his touch before he lightly placed a hand on hers, letting her grip it as her tears began to really pour forth.

"Y'know... there is always other ways to qualify."

Naruto and Hinata looked up at Mizuki as the Chunnin looked around as if to check there was no one but the three of them nearby, "Sensei?" Naruto asked hopefully.

Mizuki sighed as he mentally finalised his own plans, 'Perfect!' he thought as he schooled his emotions, "There are a few other ways to become gennin, like the way I did back in the day was taking one of the Hokage's special scrolls. The law still is in effect so you could do it too Hinata." Mizuki explained.

Naruto's brow furrowed, not having heard of anything like it before, 'Then again, I haven't been in a village like this for years.' Naruto thought as Hinata straightened up, though her tears didn't pause.

Seeing he had her attention, Mizuki continued with his explanation, "Y'know, I can set that test up for you if you'd like?" Mizuki asked with a kind smile.

Hinata nodded immediately, "Y-yes please Sensei, if I don't come back to the clan successfully, then I... I don't think my father will be too happy." Hinata said as she pushed herself into a standing position.

Naruto's brow furrowed at her words while Mizuki thought nothing of it, "Very good, well I'll set up the mission for you in the same room I once used. The aim is to get the specified scroll and learn a ninjutsu from it before the examiner can find you, in this case, me."

Hinata nodded as she did her best to memorise the information, but Naruto tilted his head in thought, "Excuse me Mizuki-sensei, but what scroll is it?" Naruto asked.

Mizuki glanced at Naruto with the slightest twitch of annoyance, "Naruto, why don't you wait outside for a moment? I'll explain the test to Hinata some more." Mizuki said.

Naruto frowned before sharing a look with Hinata, who simply nodded to him as she held his letter up to her chest with her free hand. Naruto sighed but nodded, "I'll be outside Hinata." Naruto said before walking away.

Naruto opened the door as Mizuki began talking, "Now, the room is adjoined to the Hokage's office, that's the..."

Naruto sighed as the door closed behind him, 'Something feels wrong about this...' Naruto mumbled to himself.

"It would seem that Mizuki is planning on stealing the Forbidden Scroll of Sealing."

Naruto turned to Shino as the now gennin calmly communicated with the small beetle on his nose, "Shino?" Naruto asked.

Shino lowered his hand as he turned to Naruto, showing the new forehead protector he wore proudly on his forehead, "Yes, me. My bugs are currently listening and relaying everything that he's saying to her. I know for a fact this information is a lie as my bugs can feel his hidden emotions and no such test exists in the confines of this village." Shino explained.

Naruto's face turned into a full scowl as he put his hand on the classroom door, 'Okay, we need to stop Mizuki...but more importantly, we need to make sure Hinata's safe on this mission of his.' Naruto thought before looking down at his headband and smirking.

Pulling the headband up and tying it around his own forehead, Naruto turned to Shino with a grin, "Hey Shino, want to help me catch a criminal?"

##########

Hinata landed with a roll as she made it to the clearing, she breathed heavily as she opened the Forbidden Scroll, 'Just one jutsu, I just need one.' She thought as she came to a technique that required only one hand seal, "The Shadow Clone Jutsu?" She muttered out loud.

"Fun technique, it helps when you want your mom to think you're home but really you're following a friend in danger."

Hinata turned with wide eyes to see Naruto and Shino step out from behind the cabin, Naruto smirking as Shino readjusted his glasses, "Naruto? Shino?" she asked in confusion.

Ignoring her shock, Naruto came to a stop by her side as he read the scroll over her shoulder, "What else we got here...?" he mumbled to himself as he looked at the next three jutsu that he could see.

Hinata stared at the side of Naruto's head for a moment of silent shock when Shino spoke up, "Hinata, you should get started on that Ninjutsu, it's the only way for you to become a gennin is it not?" Shino said.

Hinata smiled brightly as she realised the two were there to support her, she began to tear up again before putting on a serious expression and turning back to the scroll, placing it down on the ground and pushing it so that it unrolled some of the way.

Naruto and Shino stepped back as she began reading everything she could find about the Shadow Clone Jutsu. They looked up and down the long scroll before Naruto turned to Shino, "Hey, do you reckon it would be so bad if we learned something here too?" Naruto asked.

Shino was still for a moment before shaking his head, "It would only be logical for us to take this opportunity to grow as ninja." Shino said before walking down the length of the scroll, presumably reading the Ninjutsu titles from behind his shades.

Naruto smirked at Shino before beginning to look for a Ninjutsu he could learn, making it down the line rather quickly before he paused at a section with Sealing Arts, 'Reaper Death Seal, Dowsed Flame Seal, Sealing art: Gedo Mark, Sealing art: Bloodline Inheritance...' Naruto thought as his eyes came to a stop and he dropped to his knees to begin reading for himself.

_Title: Sealing Art: Bloodline Inheritance_

_Type: Seal_

_Classification: Permitted War Seal_

_Rank: A+_

_Bloodline Inheritance is a seal that ventures into the coding of the user's chakra and finds their latent bloodline (if they or a recent ancestor had one) and integrates it into the current user's natural chakra, forcing potential Kekkei Genkai to activate._

_Warnings: When used on a person without a latent Kekkei Genkai, physical mutations WILL occur in place of chakra mutations, DO NOT ATTEMPT unless under qualified supervision._

Naruto smirked as he finished reading, 'With this I'll unlock one of the Uzumaki clan's Chakra Mutations! I really hope I get the Chakra Chains.' Naruto thought as he pulled out his sealing scroll and moved to the third seal in it.

*POOF*

With his sealing utensils in hand, Naruto set to work copying the seal step by step onto some chakra laced paper, causing the seal to slowly settle with each stroke.

About two minutes later, Naruto paused and looked up to see Shino and Hinata standing up in the clearing and taking their first shot at the Ninjutsu they decided to learn.

"SHADOW CLONE JUTSU!" Hinata shouted as her chakra pushed harder then she'd ever had to before.

"NINJA ART: DRAGONFLY!" Shino announced as he formed two separate one handed seals and his chakra travelled up and down his back.

Naruto smirked before turning back to his seal, 'Now Hinata did the mission and we'll be here to help her against Mizuki-teme.' Naruto thought before looking off to the edge of the clearing and making eye contact with one of his own hidden Shadow Clones. The clone nodded at the look and dispelled in a plume of smoke.

##########

The Naruto clone back in the Senju household looked up in realisation from it's scroll on the Fireball Jutsu, "Time to get Kaa-san." It muttered as it rolled the scroll back up, practising the hand seals to try and memorise them as he moved to go get Tsunade.

##########

""I did it!"" Hinata and her clone exclaimed happily before they hugged each other, laughing in success as Hinata's eyes began to water up again, 'Now that I'm a gennin father will have to let me out of the compound to see my team and do missions.' Hinata thought happily as she leaned against her clone.

The two Hinatas sat down and leant against each other as they looked at opposite sides of the clearing.

Shino was on his knees panting heavily before he took a deep breath and put his hands by his sides, his left being a one handed Dragon seal and his right a one handed Bird seal, "DRAGONFLY!" Shino exclaimed before jumping up with a push of chakra.

As Shino passed a meter into the air, four wings materialised using the skin and materials on his back in an understandably painful manoeuvre. But the wings flapped quickly with a low hum, allowing Shino to level out in the air before he flew forward, having difficulty turning, but still learning to fly.

The Hinata clone watched as Naruto finally stood from his seal writing and moved the sheet over to a flat piece of dirt. Naruto looked at it for a moment as he sent chakra into it, causing the seal to glow an eerie blue before Naruto took off his shirt. Naruto turned his back to the seal and accidentally made eye contact with the Hinata clone.

The clone blushed and Naruto shared a smile before Naruto raised his arms in a cross and began to fall back, aiming to land back-first on the glowing seal.

A cocoon of chakra wrapped around Naruto before it began to shrink down, now both Hinatas were staring at the bright glow as Shino watched from a distance.

##########

'Shit! Is she sending off a flare or something? What's with that light?' Mizuki thought as he saw a white light flash from a position off to his left.

##########

"AAAAAAAAHHHHH!"

Shino and Hinata stared with wide eyes as the seal Naruto was using suddenly began to cause him pain. The cocoon began to form the shape of Naruto's body as it continued to shrink down to the size of him and encompass him, showing the two of them that Naruto was holding his hands to his eyes in pain, "Naruto!" Shino shouted from his place above the trees.

The cocoon compacted and sent out a burst of chakra that hit Hinata's clone, causing it to dispel and ruffle the real Hinata's clothes, but luckily protect her. But a moment later, the cocoon compacted again.

Shino dove in quick as the next burst of chakra was about to hit Hinata. Shino landed with a slide, skidding on his knees to grab her around the torso before he jumped again, his wings beating fast to carry them up and out of the range of the chakra shell's pulses.

The two watched as Naruto's scream came to a sudden halt after three more pulses of chakra, but they didn't dare move since someone had just entered the clearing.

Mizuki looked around with wide eyes at the disturbance Naruto's chakra caused, which made him raise a brow, "The Senju boy? Where's Hinata?" Mizuki asked himself as he walked past the unconscious boy and over to the forbidden scroll.

Hinata's eyes widened as she saw her teacher ignore Naruto's obvious pain, "Why isn't-"

"Shhh, Mizuki isn't who you think he is. He was using you to steal the scroll for some reason." Shino whispered between deep breaths as the two of them circled the clearing to land on the top branch of a tree that looked over Naruto.

Hinata's eyes widened at the words, "B-but... what about the test?" she asked.

Mizuki's loud laughter distracted the two of them for a moment, "Finally! Now I can return to Orochimaru-sama's side with praise!" Mizuki announced as he lifted the forbidden scroll into his arms.

"Orochimaru?!"

Mizuki turned to see Iruka step from the cover of the treeline, moving around and spotting Naruto as he moved completely into view, "Mizuki, what have you done with Hinata and what is you plan with that scroll?" Iruka demanded.

Mizuki smirked as he held the scroll under his arm, "I've done nothing to the girl, don't know where that disgrace has gone off to. But I guess it doesn't matter after all right?" Mizuki asked mockingly.

Iruka's brow furrowed, "What do you mean?" Iruka asked.

Mizuki scoffed, "Come on! We both know that now she's been popped and ran away Hiashi won't want her, he's always believed women of the clan are best used for treaties and inter-clan marriage contracts, her state and attitude says that's not gonna happen. She's useless to him now, especially since he can replace her with Hanabi, the gifted one." Mizuki said calmly with a shrug, "And since she's already run once, she's a threat to the clan."

Iruka's rage was obvious on his face, "Popped?" he asked rhetorically, knowing full well what had happened to Hinata, "How DARE you?! Hinata had something precious to her taken by force! The first Hyuuga to not be an absolute dickhead and she was mistreated and abused!" Iruka shouted, pure angry rolling off of him in waves, "And you USED her for THIS?!" Iruka nearly roared as he bared his teeth, ready to kill Mizuki, regardless of the consequences.

Mizuki shrugged, "This is the ninja world jack-ass, other people have done much worse." He said with a dark smirk. Iruka went to charge at Mizuki when the Chunnin dropped to a knee, his fingers wrapping around Naruto's throat, "Not today Iruka, back off or the kid gets it!" Mizuki shouted.

Iruka shook his head with a dark chuckle, "Y'know, I'm glad you threatened Naruto's life like that, know why?" Iruka asked mockingly as he continued marching towards Mizuki.

The Chunnin's grip tightened, "Why?" Mizuki asked.

"Cause I'm a medic idiot, the Medical Chakra in my system wakes me up when I'm unnaturally unconscious." Naruto said casually as Mizuki looked down at him with wide eyes.

Naruto slashed upwards with his right hand, but Mizuki pushed himself off of Naruto, thinking he had successfully dodged before he fell to a knee, his other leg not responding properly, "What?!" Mizuki asked in shock.

Naruto vaulted himself back as his blue glowing eyes shone with a new Sharingan, a blue version of the original that sat in both of his eyes instead of just the one. Naruto smirked as his new eyes worked with little effort on his part, as if he was a natural Uchiha.

Mizuki glared at Naruto as Iruka charged at him from behind, jumping up to land a solid double kick, one to the back of Mizuki's head and one to his shoulder, throwing the Chunnin onto his hands and knees while forcing him to let go of the scroll with a scream of pain as his shoulder was dislocated.

Mizuki shouted angrily as Iruka grabbed the scroll and leapt back to land just in front of Naruto, "Stupid fucking..." Mizuki grumbled under his voice as he forced himself to stand on shaky legs, pulling out a Battle Shuriken into his working hand, "Stop fighting me!" Mizuki shouted as he threw himself forward.

"SHADOW CLONE JUTSU!"

The three men on the ground paused and looked up as two Hinatas fell toward Mizuki. The first Hinata was thrown ahead at the last moment, forcing Mizuki on the defensive as she struck low before jumping up, the second Hinata did the same landing a second later as Mizuki's attention focussed on the airborne Hinata kicking at his head. Mizuki blocked as the second Hinata dove through his legs to come up behind Mizuki and slam a gentle fist strike into his back.

Mizuki gasped as the strike threw him off, allowing the first Hinata to aim a kick at Mizuki's face.

Mizuki barely leaned out of the way of the kick and slashed through the air with his Shuriken, destroying the clone as the real Hinata leapt back.

"INSECT BALL!"

Mizuki had turned and missed a slash at the real Hinata before hearing the shout from above, Mizuki looked up, seeing Shino had formed his bugs into a large ball of chakra eating bugs. Usually the attack was a slow one as the bugs had to fly across a distance, but with Shino carrying the bugs, it was a stronger and faster attack.

The bug ball exploded on Mizuki, throwing the Chunnin at Naruto and Iruka. Iruka moved so that his downward kick slammed into the back of Mizuki's head, ploughing him into the ground face-first. Mizuki rolled painfully across the ground, coming to a stop against Naruto's foot.

Mizuki weakly looked up into Naruto's Blue Sharingan eyes as the gennin made a fist, "You're going straight to gaol, no trial, no hurting any of my friends, and no Orochimaru!" Naruto announced as his hand glowed green and he swung his punch.

##########

Chapter End

Yo welcome to the Demonic Medic, I probably should've done this earlier, but here's my disclaimer; I don't own Naruto or anything affiliated to other potential material referenced in this story. The story is my own and I hope you enjoy it :)

Also just a heads up; I've been asked a lot not to make this a NaruHina story and honestly this story is NOT going down any romantic paths any time soon. Hinata won't be looking at anyone romantically for a long time and Naruto just wants to help everyone. So NOT A NARUHINA story and most likely going to be no romantic relationships in the story.

This is rated M for the upcoming brutality that Naruto will be dealing with as a Medical Ninja as well as the many other things that has made this story different to my others. There will be no sex scenes.

Alky out, hope ya'll R&amp;R


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four: A New Story

Hiruzen sighed as he sat back in his chair, bringing his pipe to his lips as he lit it up with a spark of fire chakra, 'That was ridiculous, those three managed to learn A-rank techniques in only a few hours, not just any ninja can do that.' Hiruzen thought while blowing out some smoke.

Hiruzen's eyes softened as he watched Hinata look at Mizuki sadly, 'And this girl just broke free of the clan after recovering from an extremely traumatising position, learned a jutsu she shouldn't even have the chakra to achieve and helped in taking down an active Chunnin defector... even in her pyjamas.' Hiruzen thought before turning to his door and glancing at the candle on his desk.

Blowing out the candle, the lights in his office automatically lit up as Hiruzen cleared his throat, "You're allowed in now." he said calmly.

*BAM*

Tsunade stormed in angrily as the door she had punched flew out the window, "What the hell is going on Sensei?!" She demanded as two other men walked in behind her.

"I am currently filing for banishment for someone in my clan, I have more important matters to attend to then to wait at your door old man." Hiashi said disrespectfully.

Shibi merely stood silently as he waited for an explanation.

Hiruzen took a pull of his pipe and calmly looked over the three in front of him silently. He blew out the smoke through his nose before looking firstly at Hiashi, "...Tell me, I've heard that Hinata may be a threat to the Hyuuga clan, is that true?" he asked.

Hiashi sighed quietly, "Yes, it is true."

Hiruzen nodded, "So, she is also the one that is being banished to the branch family of the clan?" he asked.

Hiashi smirked, "The paperwork is filled, I'm just having it filed in the Hyuuga archives. As of tomorrow morning it will be filed and therefore, become clan law." Hiashi said, knowing his work was done.

Tsunade closed her eyes as she suppressed her rage, though she was glad she wasn't the one that had to show it.

Shibi's fist slammed into Hiashi's face, sending the man to the ground in shock. Hiashi stared at Shibi before the man bowed to the Hiruzen, "My apologies Hokage-sama, I slipped." Shibi said calmly.

Hiruzen nodded as Hiashi lost his composure and spluttered in shock, "Slipped?!" he shouted.

"Forgiven Shibi," Hiruzen said with a smile, "Hiashi, the matter is closed." he finalised.

Hiashi was about to speak up when Tsunade slammed her fist into the Hokage's desk, "Forget this idiot and tell me where my son is!" Tsunade demanded.

Hiashi quietened down at Tsunade's words, feeling hurt as he still believed that the two of them held a special connection.

Hiruzen sighed after taking a long drag from his pipe, "Since Hinata is no longer part of your direct family Hiashi, you aren't needed here. I'm sorry for putting you out like this." He said with a tired smile.

Hiashi bristled with annoyance and anger before hiding it under his mask of no emotions. He turned and briskly walked out of the office, slamming the door behind him.

Hiruzen sighed as he took another drag of his pipe, "Iruka is bringing Naruto, Shino and Hinata here now along with the forbidden scroll and their prisoner. Hinata was given an impossible task to achieve with a promise of gennin status as he reward. But she more than achieved, she learned to use an A-rank jutsu in around three hours." Hiruzen said, letting that dawn on them.

Shibi looked out the window for a moment in contemplation, "Then it would be logical she be given gennin status. But what of my son?" he asked.

Hiruzen smiled, "Shino also learned an A-rank jutsu that goes with his style perfectly. While Naruto found and used a special seal that awakened any hidden bloodlines he may have had locked away in his chakra coils." Hiruzen explained.

Tsunade blinked at that, unsure of what to expect, "So like, one of those chakra mutations?" She asked.

Hiruzen scratched his chin in thought as he looked up at the ceiling, "Well, I think that's what he might've been aiming for, but it seems that instead it's done something with his Sharingan." The Hokage explained.

Tsunade and Shibi were stunned quiet for a moment before a knocking was heard at the door, causing Hiruzen to straighten up as he nodded to Shibi.

Shibi took a few short steps and opened the door silently, letting Iruka lead the way in followed by the children, "Kaa-san!" Naruto exclaimed as he ran over to Tsunade, hugging her around the waist.

Tsunade sighed in relief as she took a knee, hugging Naruto tightly right back as she relaxed, 'Thank the Log, I couldn't stand to lose you too.' Tsunade thought protectively as she felt the Senju Necklace press against her collarbone from it's place around Naruto's neck.

Naruto swallowed deeply as he felt the familiar tremor of holding in tears run through his mother's body, 'Kaa-san...' Naruto thought with a fair bit of guilt as he tightly hugged her back.

Tsunade stepped back as she stood tall again, though a hand didn't leave Naruto's shoulder as she turned back to face the Hokage.

Following her ex-sensei's gaze, she immediately understood why he was quiet.

Hinata looked at the ground quietly with a soft smile on her face as Shino and Naruto were embraced by their parents, 'I'm glad their parents are here for them, it would hurt a lot if they were left alone after an ordeal like that...' She thought, honestly happy for her friends while unknowingly sad at her own loneliness.

"Hinata."

The young girl looked up as the Hokage said her name, causing her to blush in embarrassment as she realised everyone was staring at her...in her pyjamas, "Y-yes Hokage-sama?" she asked timidly.

The Hokage leaned forward as he watched her eyes, "Tell me, what would you rather, the life of a ninja? Or slavery in your clan?" He asked calmly.

Hinata's eyes widened at his words, "I...Umm, why?" she asked as she felt tears building up in her eyes.

The Hokage kept a calming expression on his face as he spoke, "Your father, Hiashi, has expelled you from his clan for leaving the compound against his order for the last time. He believed that after your experience, you would only do good as a branch house slave, giving way for Hanabi to become clan head," Hiruzen explained, watching as Hinata's arms fell slack by her sides, "Right at this moment, you are being removed from the Main house family and you have two options that you need to sort out right now if you want to live under your own power." Hiruzen explained.

Hinata stood in stunned silence for a moment as stared at the Hokage for nearly a full minute.

"Hinata," the Hokage said forcefully, causing her to look up at him again, "As of this moment, you are not part of the Hyuuga clan, by tomorrow morning, you will be part of the Hyuuga's branch family. As a ninja of the village, even a clan head needs your vocalised grant to become part of a clan. If you register as a ninja of the leaf village right now, you will be Hinata, gennin of the leaf. No one but me would have direct influence over you." Hiruzen said as Hinata's eyes finally seemed to show realisation, "Not even a Clan Head."

Hinata was silent for a moment as she nodded slowly, "D-do I have a chance at becoming gennin before tomorrow?" She asked, her stutter nearly evaporated by the time she was done talking.

Hiruzen smirked as he moved his hand, relaxing it on top of a new Konoha headband that sat on his desk, "Well it is against the law for me to leave an unattended civilian alone when they have knowledge on a High Level Ninjutsu, so either I let the genius that managed to learn an A-rank jutsu become a ninja under my watch, or I have her imprisoned for an unspecified time period." Hiruzen said as he lifted the headband towards Hinata, "Hinata of the Leaf, do you accept a position as gennin of our village?" he offered with a smile.

Hinata began to smile softly as she took a step forward, but the moment her foot touched ground, she paused, "But... what about Hanabi-imouto-chan?" Hinata asked.

Everyone paused at that.

After a few moments, Shibi spoke up calmly, "What is it that you are concerned about with your sister?" He asked.

Hinata chewed her bottom lip nervously, "Tou-san, he doesn't accept failure very well, and without me to be there... what if someone beats her in a training spar?" Hinata asked, no more stutter evident in her voice.

Hiruzen's brow furrowed, "I'm not sure what exactly you mean Hinata, but if you aren't part of that clan you can't be persecuted by a clan for looking into an issue of child abuse." Hiruzen clarified.

Hinata's eyes widened, "Can... will I be protected by being a ninja of the village if I know things about the clan?" she asked quietly.

Hiruzen nodded, "Yes, but only if you don't have the Caged Bird Seal am I right?" he asked, wanting confirmation for a theory he'd agreed with upon hearing years before.

Hinata nodded as she stepped forward towards the Hokage's desk again, the truth beginning to pour out of her, "Yes, when branch members try to speak up or leave the clan, the elders of the Main branch use it as a chance to show the younger generation how they basically enslave the branch family with the threat of pain and death, that's why I.." she paused as she took a shaky breath, "I...I hate the Caged Bird Seal!" Hinata nearly shouted suddenly, her tears pouring forth through her eyes, "I hate my family for what they do to their cousins, I hate the clan for the separation and hatred they show each other," she said as she cried, "I hate that my... my own father hurts everyone! I always have to play the weaker one between Hanabi and I, cause if she loses he'll hit her instead! I hate that the weakness I've had to hide behind made Kenta want to hurt me and I Hate not being able to STOP IT!" she shouted with rage and sorrow filled tears pouring down her face.

Naruto and Tsunade stared in shock as the usually quiet Hinata finally seemed to explode with everything she had kept bottled inside, but it seemed like this was the reaction Hiruzen had wanted or expected since he was easily able to reply, "Then take this chance to stop it all Hinata!" Hiruzen's powerful voice rang out as he stood, looking down at Hinata with a glow of encouragement in his gaze, "This is the first step that only you can take to end these harsh clan practises, this is one of the moments that defines your life," he said as he walked around the desk, kneeling so that he was at eye level with Hinata, "Will you hide in the clan and be slave to the Hyuuga," he asked as he placed a hand on her shoulder, "Or will you be the light that saves them?" Hiruzen asked as he lifted his other hand, holding out the headband in offering.

Hinata placed her hand on the headband and smiled softly, "Yes," she said in a slightly raspy voice after shouting for the first time she could even remember, "I... I choose to be Hinata of the Leaf, not of the Hyuuga." Hinata said with a slight smile towards the Hokage.

The Hokage looked up at the nearly forgotten Iruka, "Iruka, would you do the honours? After all only a teacher can announce an official graduation into the ninja life." Hiruzen said.

Iruka blinked once before smiling from his place at the door, "Hai Hokage-sama," Iruka said as he took the headband from Hinata and begun to wrap it around her forehead, "I officially declare you a gennin of the Leaf village Hinata." Iruka said with his smile still in place as he stepped back.

Hinata turned to Iruka with a bright smile, teeth and all as her shell of fear, quiet and sadness was all but shattered, "Thank you Iruka-sensei!" she exclaimed happily, her new headband tied firmly on her forehead.

"So, you need a place to stay right?"

Everyone in the office looked at Naruto as he finally stepped out of Tsunade's grasp and towards the ex-Hyuuga as she stared at him with wide eyes, "Don't you need a place to live now after the Hyuuga clan house?" he asked before looking up at Tsunade, "I still have the spare room in my part of the house Kaa-san, can I offer it to Hinata?" Naruto asked hopefully.

Tsunade looked at Naruto with a smile, never able to deny him a thing and knowing that Hinata deserved to be treated better, "Of course," she said, looking to Hinata with a smile, "And I'll have Shizune take you shopping in the morning for some appropriate attire. If you want that is?" Tsunade offered Hinata.

Hinata looked between Naruto and Tsunade for a moment before nodding, "Yes, that would be... great." Hinata said, her smiling only growing larger in size.

Hiruzen smiled as he stood, "It's settled then," he said before clapping, bringing everyone's attention back to him, "It's very late, so let's conclude this meeting for now." Hiruzen ordered.

Shino looked up, "And our incident reports Hokage-sama?" Shino asked.

Hiruzen stroked his beard as he begun walking back to his chair, "True, well I'll tell you what, by the time you each get your first mission – at which point a time I will see you in the mission hall – I would like a written report from each and every one of you detailing the entire incident," he said before looking up at Iruka, "But I'll have yours by tomorrow afternoon, as well as Mizuki's work desk at the academy brought here as well via sealing scroll, okay?"

Iruka nodded, "Hai Hokage-sama." he agreed.

The Third Hokage looked around the room one more time, taking in everyone's eyes as they felt the gravity of the situation. The Hyuuga just lost some major power in the Leaf Village.

##########

Opening the door to his half of the house, Naruto stepped aside to allow Hinata to walk in past him, "Welcome Home Hinata." Naruto said with a kind smile.

Hinata looked over the small apartment-like area with a new look in her eyes, "Home..." she muttered with a sigh.

Naruto frowned slightly as he watched Hinata stop a few steps into his place, he closed the door softly before looking at the clock on his wall, seeing it was nearing two in the morning, "Tell you what Hinata, I'll grab some of my smaller clothes that should fit you and leave them here," Naruto said as he crossed past Hinata, going to the first door visible from the doorway, "Right outside the bathroom door, since the other room isn't set up yet you can use my bedroom for the night since you'll need to be up early with Shizune-nee-chan," he said as he gestured down the short hallway, "I'll leave the light on for you." Naruto said with a kind smile.

Hinata nodded before her shoulders began to shake. Naruto raised a brow before his medical training kicked in, 'The shock has worn off, she's about to break.' Naruto realised as he stepped forward.

Hinata collapsed to the side, getting caught by Naruto's strong arms before she came to a stop in his grip. She began to cry out her pain, everything that had pent up, her father, her clan, the incident with the late Kenta Hyuuga. She let it all out.

Naruto sat quietly as he enveloped his arms in medical chakra. The simple technique giving her a warm and comforting embrace as it began to amplify her brain's reading of her emotions. Causing her to feel as much of the emotional pain she could handle in one massive push so that she could recover quicker.

She sobbed.

Naruto blinked and swallowed heavily as he tried to hold back his own tears. He could feel her pain as if it was oozing out of her and into him, 'The downside of being a medical ninja... empathy is the key to healing emotional problems, but in itself, the most painful for the healer.' Naruto thought as he held her tight.

Naruto closed his eyes as a single tear fell, waiting calmly.

Nearly an hour passed before Hinata's breathing evened out and Naruto felt her go limp in his arms as she passed into sleep. Naruto sighed as he slowly manoeuvred her into his arms and stood, holding her in a bear hug as he placed her gently on the couch nearby, resting her head on the armrest.

Naruto sighed as he walked to his bedroom, opening the door quietly as he cleared his bed and set up the pillows for her.

A few moments later, Naruto closed the door to his bedroom as he left her sleep before he walked to the adjoining door and sighed before yawning, 'Geez, this day sure was fun.' Naruto thought sarcastically before looking up at the low light with a smirk as his blue Sharingan eyes span slowly, 'Then again, at least something good came out of it.' Naruto thought with a light chuckle as he stepped out of the hallway and into the main house.

"Good, you're still up."

Naruto looked over to his mother with a smile as he stepped out of the small hallway, seeing her on a large couch as leant against the arm rest, "Come here, don't think I'd miss that your eyes have changed." she ordered as she straightened up to give Naruto room.

Naruto sighed as he moved over to the couch and lay down, resting his head on his mother's lap as he looked up at the ceiling and yawned, "I made it today Kaa-san, I'm a gennin now." Naruto said with a smile.

Tsunade nodded with a smile, "Yes you are, and one day you could become the worlds greatest medic like I did, or maybe even even Hokage like Sarutobi Sensei." She said as she placed her green-glowing hand over his eyes, having him close them as she began to analyse them.

Naruto scoffed, "No way, Hokage? I don't really want that kind of responsibility..." he said before sighing, "Being a Medical Ninja is hard enough as it is..." Naruto muttered.

Tsunade's brow furrowed as she continued reading the chakra pathways in the eyes, "What's so bad about being a medical ninja?" she asked curiously, "You've never shown a dislike of it before now." She said.

Naruto smiled up at his mother, even with his eyes closed, "Yeah I know, it's just occurred to me since we've been back to the village... my entire job is basically about dealing with everyone else's pain and problems," he said before yawning, "And I'm not sure if I'm strong enough to deal with that, or even if I want to for that matter." he said tiredly.

Tsunade's eyes widened, but not because of what he said, 'His eyes... both of them have matching chakra pathways, the same pathways Shisui's eye had before... but there's two other chakra pathways stemming off from the original, and the biology is all Naruto... he just made a pure-blood Uzumaki-Sharingan bloodline, but with something extra if the two extra pathways are anything to go by...' she thought in wonder before trying to refocus on their conversation, "Well, just because I'm a medical ninja doesn't mean you have to be Naruto... tell me, what would your dream job be?" she asked.

Naruto smiled as he felt her chakra meld easier into his chakra network, before where it was an uncomfortable feeling, now it felt extremely calming, "I think... I'd want to be a ninja teacher, like, maybe a Jonin Sensei? Or maybe since I already can be a medic, I can eventually become a teacher for that? Or..." he began with a shrug as he yawned again, "Maybe an academy instructor?"

Tsunade smiled softly, 'Little Naru-chan...always just wants to help others be stronger.' she thought with a smile as she felt the fully repaired chakra pathways that she had come to associate with the Mangekyou Sharingan, 'It seems his Mangekyou might even be available with less damage being done to his eyes.' she thought before she pulled her hands away, her examination coming to a close for the time being.

Tsunade blinked as she noticed Naruto's still face, she smiled softly as she picked up a pillow from the side of the couch. She set it next to her head as she rested back and closed her own eyes, planning to join him in sleep for the night.

##########

"Tsunade-sama? Naruto?"

Tsunade began to stir as Tsubaki called her name. She opened her eyes to see her new maid standing on the opposite side of the coffee table, two sets of a healthy breakfast sitting in front of her.

As soon as the observation really settled in, Tsunade sat up with a jolt, shaking Naruto awake and causing him to slowly sit up with a groan, "Hmm?" Naruto asked as he wiped his eyes from sleep.

Tsunade cleared her throat as she looked around the top floor of their hillside house, seeing that the morning light had been pouring in the window for at least an hour, "Right, morning Tsubaki." Tsunade said with a sleepy smile.

Naruto turned to the coffee table at the same time Tsunade did, both the take a deep breath through their noses as the smell of the breakfast Tsubaki had made them hit their noses.

Both mother and son blushed as their stomachs rumbled in unison, but that was quickly drowned out by Naruto burying his face in his meal.

Tsunade smiled down at the food before looking up at Tsubaki, who had obviously been up and active for a few hours at least, "Thanks Tsubaki," Tsunade said as she took her first mouthful. She glanced around the room and raised a brow, "Where's Shizune?" she asked after swallowing.

Tsubaki smiled at Naruto and Tsunade's pleased expressions, "She and Hinata went shopping about half an hour ago to find Hinata some suitable ninja-wear, I would've left you two to rest but," she paused with a glance at Naruto as he scarfed down another mouthful, "Naruto has team assignments in an hour and you received a black-label letter this morning Tsunade-sama." Tsubaki said.

Not knowing what a black-label letter meant in a ninja village, Naruto paid it no heed as his eyes shot towards a clock, "AH! I gotta get ready! Thanks for the awesome food Tsubaki!" Naruto exclaimed as he jumped up to his feet.

Tsunade watched as Naruto came back for his last piece of bacon before sprinting back off, disappearing down the hallway in a blur as he rushed to get ready.

Tsubaki chuckled slightly as she watched Naruto retreat to his room, but the atmosphere quickly became heavy as she turned back to Tsunade, seeing the Senju Clan Head looking down at the envelope in front of her with a frown on her face.

The plain envelope had but two things on it, a single black stripe and the mark of the Hyuuga Clan Head, causing Tsunade to sigh as the events from the day before finally caught up with her, 'I just took in the clan heir of the Hyuuga clan, the daughter of a guy with a weird man-crush on me, and an unsealed free Byakugan user.' Tsunade thought with a sigh as she looked down at the envelope, 'Should've seen this coming.'

Opening the envelope, Tsunade began reading what she assumed would've been a threat of some kind for taking in Hinata, but she simply raised a brow as she began reading the letter to herself.

##########

Naruto threw his jacket on over his singlet as he looked down at his new ninja tools. He wore a Medic Belt around his hips, holding three pouches under his jacket that held all that was necessary for an advanced field medic but sacrificing a full ninja pouch with shuriken and seal tags. He now also had a kunai holster strapped to his left leg and secretly, two storage seals stitched into the inside of his jacket sleeves. 'Better to be prepared for anything rather then unprepared for the random.' Naruto thought to himself as he finished getting dressed and left his bedroom.

A few minutes later, Naruto walked out his front door with a grin as the morning sun drenched over his form. He fastened his medic pack as he took the first few steps into the light and grinned up at it, the sunlight shining brightly off the Hitai-ite which he wore as a belt buckle like his mom used to when she was gennin.

Looking ahead, Naruto's grin turned to a confident smirk as he began to march towards the Academy, 'Life as a Konohagakure gennin... this is gonna be cool!' Naruto thought to himself as he picked up his pace a little in excitement.

It was some time later that Naruto actually focussed on where he was going and as he looked up, he got a shock at what – or rather who – he was seeing in front of him.

##########

Hinata blushed as she readjusted the forehead protector over her eyes, her Byakugan secretly activated underneath to help her not only train in it, but deceive all of her enemies into thinking she was disadvantaged by her lack of sight. She rather enjoyed having it active the whole time, especially since it made her feel more comfortable about the new clothes she was wearing considering she could see way more of anyone else then they could see of her.

Hinata's short blue hair was covered by the hood over her head, but her bangs were still visible over the headband that she wore proudly. The hoodie was sleeveless and a very dark orange that in a dark light would seem closer to brown. She appeared to not be wearing a shirt underneath it since as it stopped above her belly button, everyone could see her bare skin showing and subsequently the scar that lead down to disappear underneath her pants. Hinata's blush increased as she saw Naruto basically checking her out as he walked in the gate, his eyes very much glued to the tight black material that was closer to tights then pants other then the pockets present on them. The only thing that had stayed the same was her ninja sandals.

Shizune smiled as she saw Hinata smile and turn, 'So he's here somewhere...' Shizune thought as she looked over to the gate, seeing Naruto turn towards them, 'Wow, those eyes of hers are really incredible.' Shizune thought, still getting used to the idea of the Byakugan let alone trying to understand just what she's seeing and interpreting.

"Hey Nee-chan, Hinata. How's the new threads?" Naruto asked as he came to a stop in front of the two of them.

"HINATA?!"

Hinata sighed as Kiba Inuzuka appeared between her and Naruto, "It IS you! What happened? Why are you dressed like some clanless bum?" Kiba asked, thinking her clothes were about as far from 'Hyuuga tradition' as his own were, it was at this moment he realised her eyes were covered under the hood, "And what happened to your eyes?" he asked in a moment of worry.

Hinata watched Kiba for a moment as she saw him stare at the bare skin she was showing on her tummy, and unfortunately, she saw his body's reaction to her appeal as well, "Kiba, keep your eyes to yourself please. I don't want your attention." Hinata said quite simply.

Kiba's entire persona faltered as Naruto couldn't hold back the smirk that formed on his face, 'Wow, Hinata doesn't waste a moment for thought now.' Naruto thought with a slight chuckle that brought Kiba's attention to him.

Kiba turned to Naruto and scowled at him, "Senju? What do you want?" Kiba asked, only just realising that he was there.

Shizune glanced between Kiba – who was obviously trying to assert his Inuzuka dominance – and Naruto – who looked like he wanted to see the situation resolve – and sighed, 'Nope, I'm needed at the ANBU facilities, it'll just be a bother to watch this unfold.' she thought before placing a hand on Hinata's shoulder.

Hinata looked up at her with a smile, "Thank you for this morning Shizune-san, I've never had 'girl time' before." Hinata said happily.

Shizune nodded and smiled, "Any time Hinata-chan, I had real fun." Shizune said, being honest as she truly did enjoy playing dress up with someone like Hinata, after all, she had a body type that fit most styles of dress.

Shizune placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder as she walked past, causing Kiba to look up at her as did Naruto, "I'll see you later Naru-chan, you make sure that you're careful okay?" she said.

Naruto grinned up at her, "Got it Nee-chan." he promised with a nod.

With that Shizune left calmly, though she took one more glance at Kiba as she felt his gaze on her as she walked away, 'Geez for a kid he certainly doesn't seem to think like one.'

Back at the trio of gennin, Naruto went to address Hinata, but Kiba stood between them as he repeated his earlier question, "What do you want Senju? Can't you see Hinata-chan and I have some things to talk about?" he asked rhetorically as he took a step back, about to place a hand on Hinata's waist.

Naruto's eyes widened, 'Uh-oh, one should never unexpectedly approach or touch someone that's been through what Hinata has, especially a creeper like Kiba.' Naruto thought as he was about to intervene.

**CRACK**

Kiba shouted in pain as he nursed his pinky finger, which was suddenly bent in a very, very wrong way. Kiba stared at it for a moment and opened his mouth as he was about to scream.

Naruto's hands moved quickly, one to Kiba's mouth to cover his shout and one green-glowing hand to crack his finger back into place and heal it, causing Kiba to blink owlishly as he watched his finger morph back into the right shape with no pain.

"Kiba," Hinata said, bring the dog-boy's gaze up to her headband, causing him to feel unsettled as she seemed to look right through him, "I told you before and this is the last time I'll say it again; I don't want your attention." Hinata said with an emotionless voice.

Kiba swallowed deeply and nodded, "'Holy shit... she's become a total bad-ass babe..." Kiba said as he openly stared at her.

Naruto sighed as he let go of his finger while Hinata scowled at Kiba, "Let's just go to class okay guys?" Naruto asked with a soft smile as the morning bell went off, normally signifying class starting.

But today, it meant Team Assignments.

##########

"Alright," Iruka said as he looked over the room full of freshly graduated gennin, "Today is your first day as gennin and as such, it's my duty to inform each of you of the teams you've been placed on as well and if requested, your place in the class's final grade." Iruka said with a smirk, knowing from tradition that most would want to know.

The class sat in quiet excitement, many of them wanting to know if they managed to get in the top circle of gennin and hopefully get a better teacher for the next portion of their ninja careers.

"Now team one will be..." Iruka began, going down his list of people on the clipboard in front of him.

Time passed slowly as the first six teams were called out and many people requesting their scores, some earning a little embarrassment while others swelled with pride as they found themselves in the top ten.

"Team 7," Iruka began again as he smiled, seeing the names, "Sasuke Uchiha, Naruto Senju and... Hinata." Iruka said, his smile sliding slightly as he noticed that Hinata's name lacked the 'Hyuuga.'

""WHAAAAAAT?!""

Many people turned to Ino and Sakura as their yell nearly shattered glass, "Sensei! Why does _she_ get to be on Sasuke's team?! She didn't even come to the exams!" Ino shouted.

Sakura nodded in agreement as she looked around the room, unable to recognise Hinata from her place next to Naruto in the back row, "Where is she anyway?" Sakura asked, wanting something to spend her anger on.

Iruka sighed in exasperation, but Sasuke managed to grab everyone's attention as he spoke, "Sensei, my ranking?" he asked with no discernible emotion on his face or in his voice.

Iruka's face moved into a slightly nervous smile, "Sasuke, well you came...second." Iruka said.

The class was quiet at that for a moment as Sasuke turned and glared across the classroom at Naruto, who was looking curiously at Iruka since he was supposed to be listening, "Who came first?" Sasuke demanded.

Iruka scratched the back of his head, "Now the person who came first hasn't asked for their score to be read out Sasuke, I can't give that information away so easily." Iruka said apologetically.

Naruto stood as he looked around, not knowing where Sasuke's usual spot was since he was new, "Hey Sasuke, wanna come sit with Hinata and me?" Naruto asked with a smile once he spotted Sasuke.

Sasuke's glare withered as it seemed to have literally no impact on Naruto, 'Either he thinks he's better then me or he's actually glad we're on a team.' Sasuke thought before he realised something.

He had already stood and begun walking.

Sasuke came to a stop at the desk before taking a seat in the empty chair next to Hinata, leaning back as he rested his feet on the table to look up at the roof. Though he was trying to act casual, he was trying to think of a way to find out if Naruto was the one to have beaten him.

"Ano, Iruka-sensei? What was my score?"

Everyone in the class turned to the hooded figure between Sasuke and Naruto as Hinata looked up from resting her head on her crossed arms. The class was mostly silent as almost no-one realised who it was.

Iruka smiled sadly up at Hinata, "Sorry Hinata, but cause of the circumstances of your passing you didn't actually get a passing grade, so unfortunately you got the lowest score of the class." Iruka said.

Sakura seemed to pounce on the opportunity to make her seem better then Hinata, "Ha! Stupid dead-last!" she said as she pointed at Hinata.

"Sakura."

The class was quiet again as Sakura turned to Sasuke with wide eyes, 'H-he's addressing me? Just me?' Sakura thought with a dreamy smile.

"Talk to my team like that again and I'll burn you."

Rather then letting the classroom explode again, Iruka quickly clapped his hands to get everyone's attention as Sakura froze, an emotional breakdown becoming more and more imminent with each passing second, "So Naruto, want to know your ranking?" Iruka asked before realising that this redirect might not have been his best.

Naruto smiled and nodded, "Okay, did I get in the top ten?" Naruto asked politely.

Iruka nodded, "Yes actually, turns out you got number one," he said, letting that sink in for a moment, "Naruto is Rookie of the Year."

As if that was the last straw, everyone in the classroom burst into questions. How Sasuke was beaten, how Hinata had passed, how Naruto got number one after only a week in the academy, even though Iruka clearly said that that the final grade was reliant solely on the final exams.

Iruka sighed as he looked around the classroom, realising he had lost complete control over the kids that bombarded the silent Sasuke and Hinata with questions as Naruto tried to answer them all, realising his team-mates didn't want to, 'Oh screw it. I only really had to inform them of the teams and scores.' Iruka thought with a sigh as he turned to his blackboard and picked up a piece of chalk.

A few minutes after he began writing, he placed the chalk down and came to the realisation that the room was mostly quiet behind him.

Turning around, Iruka raised a brow as he noticed three things. One: every girl was glaring between Hinata and Sasuke, two: Shino seemed to be the only one in the room standing and three: almost everyone in the room seemed to have more then just a few bugs on their faces.

Iruka blinked as Shino brought a single finger to his lips, "Shhh." he whispered gently.

Iruka merely blinked again before a knock was heard on the door and a group of Jonin walked in, "Team 1, with me." a sickly looking Jonin said before walking back out the door.

As the next few teams began to leave, Ino looked up at the board to see that Iruka had written the last few teams up as well as their Sensei, "I'M STUCK WITH FATASS AND THE LAZY BUM?!" she shouted.

Shikamaru and Choji sighed as Shikamaru turned to his friend, "Told ya she wouldn't have noticed it before." Shikamaru muttered.

Ino's outburst made Sakura look up for her name as well before a horrified look came over her face, "I GOT THE STINKY DOG AND BUGBOY?!" she screamed.

"Sakura."

The pinkette turned to Shino as the boy readjusted his glasses, giving Sakura a view of his kaleidoscope eyes, "Sit down." Shino ordered.

Sakura – a girl with an extreme fear of bugs – sat down quickly and silently as anime tears poured from her face.

Naruto nodded as he read from the board as well, "Interesting, so the person who came last gets put with the two best to balance a team and the same repeats throughout the top ten and subsequently the worse five before the last fifteen are mixed around in subsidised groups." Naruto said calmly.

Hinata and Sasuke both looked at him with a raised brow.

**Clunk**

The three of them looked over to the door in unison to come to the same conclusion as they were left behind in the now empty room, 'Our Sensei is late...'

##########

Tsunade sighed as she entered her new office in the hospital. After only half a week of work at the hospital, it was obvious that the standards of medical care had fallen in the few years she was absent and as she began to prove so, she proved that she was still more than capable of running the ICU department.

So here she was, just over a week into her job as one of the three alternating Head Doctors of the ICU unit in the Hidden Leaf Village's hospital.

And fuck was there a lot of idiots.

Tsunade frowned as she fell into the plushy chair behind her desk, looking down at the folder of her last patient for the day, 'Managing to ignite a fire chakra inside the lungs, but didn't release it before it took form of a flame. Idiot burned the inside of his lungs and would've died if it wasn't for that weirdo gennin medic.' Tsunade thought before leaning back and closing her eyes for the moment.

"Long day Tsunade?"

Tsunade's eyes snapped open as she looked at the person standing in the corner of her office, "Jiraiya?" she asked in shock.

The Toad Sage stepped out of the shadows with a grin on his face that was so big that his eyes were shut, "That's me, sorry I missed the dinner the other night." Jiraiya said as he walked calmly into the center of the room.

Tsunade sighed again as she sat forward, "That was last week moron, you really messed up." She said.

Jiraiya raised a brow, "Huh? Why did I mess up?" Jiraiya asked.

Tsunade looked up at Jiraiya with an angry but obviously exhausted glare, "Cause on that night Sarutobi and I had a little talk concerning who Naruto's Godparents were and since Mikoto is gone, that left only his Godfather there to look after him," Tsunade said as she stood to her feet, her hands clenched tightly, "But where was he again? Oh yeah, writing porn for money!" Tsunade said angrily as she punched through her desk in anger, breaking it in half and clearing a path for her to walk through.

Jiraiya blinked with wide eyes as he stepped back, "H-hey let me explain here! It wasn't my fault! Sarutobi-sensei said that Naruto can't leave the village yet and then I had to go set up my spy network throughout the elemental nations!" Jiraiya said in panic.

Tsunade scowled as she walked past Jiraiya, "I know everything you really got up to Jiraiya," she said as she slapped him in the chest with a yellow envelope, "And you have a lot to make up for." she said as she paused at his side.

Jiraiya looked at the envelope in confusion as he begun to open it, only to find two columns named 'Penance' and 'Crimes' side by side down the page along with a paragraph down the bottom from their Sensei;

_Jiraiya,_

_I am ashamed that you shirked your duties as a Godfather in favour  
of leering on the women of the Five Elemental Nations. You have  
used your status to get into places and do illegal activities. As much  
as I hate to do this it's the only way I can be certain about your  
actions at this point in time...  
For each crime that I could report you for, you shall do the village one  
favour specifically for people of this village or the village itself. If you  
refuse, pack your bags and start running._

_Looking forward to seeing you at the first task.  
Hiruzen Sarutobi_

Jiraiya was about to be stunned and furious as he read the paragraph to it's final word, but before he could say anything out loud about it, Tsunade cut him off, "Before you begin to bitch, look at the first few acts of 'Penance' and make your decision." She said, pointing to the first line of words and walking away.

Jiraiya blinked owlishly as he read the first task, 'Chill with the Hokage on the next available Saturday for his day off? Teach a team of Naruto Clones weekly? Teach a three lesson course that's full prep for... FEMALE JONIN SEDUCTION MISSIONS?!' Jiraiya read questioningly yet hopefully in his mind as blood began to leak from his nose.

Tsunade nodded as she watched Jiraiya begin to get lost in his daydream, tapping him on the forehead protector to get his attention as she walked past, "Focus idiot, most of these aren't that bad, though a few will be time consuming," she said before opening the door back into the main part of the hospital, "How about we go get started on number four? Don't expect anything sincere ya perv, and you're picking up the check." Tsunade said as she walked out the door.

Jiraiya blinked as he looked down at number four on his list, "Take Tsunade out on at least five dates, whether it be as friends or something more, you both need to talk." Jiraiya read out loud.

Jiraiya looked up and out the open doorway, seeing Tsunade looking at him with a blank expression, one that Jiraiya was familiar with.

'Dear Log, what has her this pained? It's not really about me ditching the kid is it?'

##########

"Rock."

"Paper."

"Scissors!" Team 7 exclaimed as they thrust their hands out.

"Oh damn." Naruto said with a fake frown, having fun testing Hinata and Sasuke's reactions to his subtle mind analysis techniques, such as rock paper scissors.

Sasuke smirked as he and Hinata turned to one another, both of them holding out their hands as Naruto tried to predict their movements, 'Sasuke will pick rock again but this time Hinata will too. Then next turn Sasuke will go scissors and Hinata will lose with paper.' Naruto predicted, smirking as what he was guessing began to unfold in front of him.

Naruto raised a brow as Hinata surprised him by picking rock a third time, "Hinata wins!" Naruto said with a grin.

Sasuke scowled before leaning back and shrugging, "Big deal, it's just rock paper scissors." he grumbled.

**Creak**

The three gennin turned their heads in unison as the door to the class room opened, letting a grey haired Jonin walk in, "Hello, Team 7?" Kakashi asked with an eye smile.

Sasuke stood immediately, "That's us." he said confidently.

Kakashi looked him up and down before pointing at Sasuke, "...Too emo," he said before his finger pointed at Hinata, "...Too blind," he said before pointing at Naruto, "...Too...ugly." Kakashi said calmly before turning away, "Meet you on the rooftop."

**POOF**

It took a few moments for Kakashi's words to register in their minds, but when they did, Naruto jumped to his feet angrily, "Hey what the hell?!" Naruto shouted before leaping to the door of the classroom, turning back to his team with a grin, "Race ya up there!" he said before stepping out of the door.

Naruto chuckled as he instantly heard the two people behind him get to their feet, 'So the key for this team is to give Sasuke a challenge to spur him on to be stronger and to give Hinata the opportunity to prove herself now that she's stopped holding herself back, I wonder how strong she'll grow without the oppression of her clan hanging over her...' Naruto thought to himself as he dashed up the stairs.

Pushing open the doors to the rooftop, Naruto paused as he spotted their new Sensei sitting on the rail opposite him. A second or so later, Sasuke and Hinata stopped at his sides, staring at Kakashi as he opened his single eye, "Ah, hello you three, come take a seat." Kakashi said, waving them over casually.

Naruto frowned as he marched over to Kakashi, 'I don't know what's up with this guy, but as long as I can get these two to have a friendly rivalry between them, they'll grow strong together, and hopefully help me to do the same.' Naruto thought as he arrived in front of their new Sensei, taking a seat to Sasuke's left as Hinata sat beside him.

Kakashi glanced over the group with a bored expression in his eye before it rested on Hinata, "So, tell me a little about yourselves guys."

Hinata blinked, "Umm, what should I say?" she asked.

Kakashi shrugged, "Y'know the usual, your names, likes, dislikes, dreams and stuff." Kakashi explained.

Naruto cut in, wanting to know more about their Sensei, "Why don't you show us how it's done Sensei?"

Kakashi held his chin in thought as he looked up at the sky, "Well, let's see... my name is Kakashi Hatake, I like some things and dislike other things. Yeah..." he muttered before pointing at Hinata, "Your go."

Hinata blinked behind her headband, casually taking a glance of Sasuke and Naruto's expressions simultaneously as they focussed on her, "My name is Hinata of the Leaf, I like the chance that I've been given by being expelled from the Hyuuga clan. I dislike the harsh practice of clan separation, my dream... is to save my sister and every one else from the horror that the main branch! And... umm," Hinata paused as she realised she didn't know what to say, "And I want to... have a real family with someone..." she said, not even realising her words until they were out before she looked down sadly.

Kakashi blinked at Hinata's introduction, 'Okaaaay, this is interesting, when did she leave the Hyuuga?' he thought before glancing at the next in line, Naruto, "Okay blondie, you're up."

Naruto smiled, "My name is Naruto Senju, I like the new friends I've made in Konoha and helping those that I can, and my team and my family..." Naruto said, his smile becoming a grin, "I like basically this village in general, so my dislikes..." Naruto said as he tilted his head in thought, "I guess... violence really. I don't like people I care about getting hurt, even if that means I have to hurt someone else to keep my friends from pain." Naruto said before scratching the back of his head, "But I don't really know what my dream is yet, I guess right now, it's to help me and my team mates grow stronger together." Naruto said happily.

Kakashi eye smiled at Naruto, 'For the first time... here's a kid that I actually want to teach, and after only a few sentences too.' Kakashi thought happily before turning to Sasuke, "And last but in no way least..."

Sasuke glanced at Kakashi before looking down at his hands, "I am Sasuke Uchiha, I don't like many things other then getting stronger, but I dislike many things that are constantly thrown in my way every day," Sasuke said, his glare hardening, "And my dream... is to rip out the heart of a certain man and make him watch it beat it's last." he said darkly.

The group was in a tense silence as Naruto looked down sadly, 'Itachi isn't the bad guy here... if only there was a way I could clear his name...' Naruto thought, hoping beyond hope that somehow he was right about Itachi.

Kakashi scratched the back of his head, "Hmm... I think I know a pretty good technique for that..." Kakashi mumbled casually before looking back at the trio who were staring at him intently, "Right, so I want you all to meet me tomorrow morning for your final test alright? You guys know where training ground seven is?" Kakashi asked as he stood up and yawned in apparent boredom.

Naruto shook his head, "Nope and what test?" he asked.

Kakashi eye smiled at the blonde, "Well get help from your friends, and this test truly decides whether you get to become part of a gennin cell and take missions or not." Kakashi said.

Hinata frowned, "I know where training ground seven is. Do you..." she trailed off as she looked up, glancing between the two boys that were staring at her, "...Want to meet up in the morning?" she asked.

Naruto nodded, "Yeah! There's this ramen place down in the market district and-"

"No breakfast tomorrow," Kakashi said, cutting him off, "You'll just end up throwing it up again." Kakashi said with an eye smile.

Sasuke frowned and then sighed, "How about the gates to the Uchiha district? My clan house is right next to the edge of the village and the training grounds." Sasuke said with with a bored expression.

Naruto nodded again with a smile, "Yeah that seems cool to me." Naruto said before looking to Hinata, wanting her to speak up.

Hinata nodded at his look and smiled, "Yes. The Uchiha district sounds fine." she said, though she was wondering if Naruto had forgotten that they now live together.

Kakashi chuckled as he watched the group before performing a one handed tiger seal, "Well, I'll see you guys in the morning then, Ja ne." Kakashi said with an eye smile and a wave.

*POOF*

Naruto and the others blinked in shock as the smoke dissipated, "Was he a clone?" Naruto asked.

Hinata shook her head, "His chakra signature was here and he was solid." she said, causing Naruto to smirk.

The two paused and turned as they saw the door close, Sasuke's head disappearing from view through the small window.

Naruto blinked in confusion at Sasuke's abrupt departure, but Hinata quickly grasped his attention with her next words, "So, Naruto...did you..." she began, seeing Naruto raise an eyebrow at her expectantly, causing her to blush in embarrassment, "W-wanna go down to the market district? For some umm, ramen?" she asked nervously, never having asked a friend out before, she looked off to the side nervously as she twiddled her fingers.

Naruto smiled simply, happy that someone wanted to do something with him, 'This is what friends must be like.' Naruto thought with a smile before speaking, "Yes ma'am! Wanna take a shortcut?" Naruto asked as he jogged up to and stood next to the railing overlooking the edge of the building.

Hinata sighed in relief even as she giggled at Naruto's words, stepping up beside him before looking down and frowning, "Umm, I don't think we should jump from here..." Hinata said softly.

Naruto surprised her by grabbing her hand and pulling her into an awkward hug as he formed a Ram seal behind her back, "Stay close!" Naruto exclaimed as the two of them disappeared in a shunshin.

#########

Chapter End.

Sorry it's been a while, hope you like this story :)

Naruto's making friends, Hinata's moved in to the Senju Household, and Naruto's new Sharingan is developing well.

Hope to see you all at chapter five :)


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five: Team Seven, a Promising Start

Hinata had just finished pulling her new outfit on as she tied the headband over her Byakugan activate eyes, 'My first day on a Team with Naruto-kun and Sasuke-kun...I hope I don't disappoint either of them.' she thought with a sigh as she went to leave her new bedroom door.

"Oh dammit!"

Hinata blinked before she opened the door quickly and ran out into the main room, seeing Naruto shaking his hand in pain as he had burned it on the pan, though he seemed to hear her rushed entrance to the room as he turned to her with a smile, "Morning Hinata-chan!" Naruto said exuberantly, his blue Sharingan eyes visible to the world even though the rest of his Genjutsu was still in effect.

Hinata smiled softly at Naruto as she saw simultaneously with her eyes that the toast was burning, the eggs were a few second from being overdone and the kettle was seconds from overflowing. She quickly walked through his little kitchenette, popping the toaster and lifting the kettle off of the heat as she glanced through Naruto's shoulder at the four eggs he had nearly burned.

Naruto smiled sheepishly at her as she placed the toast on the set of plates he had already waiting, "Sorry Hinata-chan, I was trying to make breakfast for you but I guess it was more like you saving breakfast from me." Naruto said with a kind smile as he placed everything in the sink and lifted the kettle and his own plate, turning to place them both on the small table that Hinata joined him at with her own plate.

Hinata sat down with a smile as she looked down at the food while Naruto poured some tea for the two of them, "Thank you Naruto, it smells wonderful." she said softly, her voice slightly hoarse before she cleared her throat.

Naruto grinned as he dug into his food, though halfway through it Hinata paused and broke the comfortable silence, "Naruto, didn't Kakashi-sensei say we weren't to eat anything before the test?" she asked.

Naruto nodded and continued eating, "Well normally I would agree with my commanding officer, but as a medic, a few techniques, pills and medicines are available which make the body absorb nutrients at an accelerated speed to avoid such situations that would normally result in puking up your guts." Naruto explained as he lifted his teacup, "Otherwise known as Rosehip tea infused with some special flavourless herbs." Naruto finished before taking a deep sip from his warm tea.

Hinata blinked at Naruto from behind her headband and nodded as she took a hesitant sip of her surprisingly delicious tea, she nodded to Naruto, "Thank you, this is wonderful." she said earnestly.

Naruto grinned happily as he finished his meal and took the empty plate to the sink. He just place it atop the pan in the sink before turning to Hinata and picking up his tea from the table, "I'm gonna have this on the balcony if you want to join me?" Naruto offered.

Hinata nodded as she finished eating her mouthful, "Yeah okay, I'll be right after you." she said before she watched him walk away.

Naruto stepped out onto his balcony, resting back into one of the chairs in relaxation as he looked out over the nearly empty street, 'Soon we'll have to go get Sasuke and we'll make our way to the training grounds,' he thought as he sipped his tea, 'I wonder if I can convince the others to get ramen with me for lunch...'

After about a minute, the door opened again and out came Hinata, "Is it okay to just leave the dishes there? I can wash up if you want." she offered.

Naruto shook his head, "Nah that's okay, Tsubaki has the next six hours to do the little chores around the house. That's what Mom hired her for apparently so yeah, we can have a break." Naruto said with a smile.

Hinata nodded as she took a seat next to Naruto, relaxing back into the chair and smiling softly as her eyes looked up and down the whole block, seeing a small flock of birds fluttering at one end while on the other some bats were sleeping. Having the Byakugan activated all the time really gave one a new perspective on the beauty of the little things surrounding them.

Hinata's focus travelled to Naruto as he finished his tea and set it down on the small table between them, "Hinata..." Naruto began, causing Hinata to turn her head to him curiously, "Are you okay? I mean, it must be just as new to you as it is to me now, the house I mean." Naruto said nervously, wanting to help somehow but not quite nailing down an idea of how to do so just yet.

Hinata was quiet for a moment before nodding, "Honestly Naruto-kun, I woke up worrying about when I'd have to go back and all that came to mind... is that I don't ever have to again," she said before smiling brightly, "I'm very, very okay." she said with a relaxed sigh.

Naruto smiled at her relaxed expression before stretching out in his chair, "I'm glad." Naruto said sincerely as the two soaked in the calm air between them.

"Hey love birds!"

Hinata snapped out of her near-zen state as Naruto leaned forward to look down over the balcony, "Kaa-san!" Naruto shouted in embarrassment as a light blush covered his cheeks.

Tsunade laughed up at his reaction before speaking loudly again, "You two better head off soon y'know, I'll see you tonight for dinner alright?" she asked rhetorically.

Naruto nodded as Hinata quickly stood by his side, the two of them waving, "Yeah I know, Later Kaa-san!" Naruto exclaimed.

"S-see you Tsunade-sama!" Hinata shouted in her soft voice.

Tsunade waved one last time at the two of them before she started walking towards the hospital, making Naruto turn to Hinata and offer her a hand, "Ready to go?" Naruto asked.

Hinata nodded and took a deep calming breath as she took his hand and stepped into his awkward hug as he once more formed a Ram seal behind her back.

In a shift of vision, the two were suddenly gone in a shunshin.

##########

Sasuke closed the gate to the Uchiha compound behind him as he glanced up and down the empty street, 'Not sure what I expected really.' Sasuke thought with a sigh as he looked to his left.

Feeling a shift in the wind, Sasuke turned to his right only to flinch as Naruto and Hinata were suddenly there in a blur, Naruto standing calmly as he supported the slightly woozy looking Hinata, "Morning Sasuke!" Naruto exclaimed before catching Hinata, "Hey are you okay Hinata?" Naruto asked.

Hinata nodded as she regained her balance, it was an odd experience being pulled through someone else's shunshin, "Y-yes," she said as she stood tall, smiling at Sasuke as she turned her gaze to him, "Good morning Sasuke." she said politely.

Sasuke nodded to the two of them, "Morning. Where did you two jump from?" he asked as he glanced around the nearby rooftops.

Hinata opened her mouth to explain, but Naruto spoke quicker, "Na-uh! Not giving away my super secret techniques so easily!" Naruto exclaimed jokingly before linking an arm with Hinata and the obviously caught-off-guard Sasuke, forming the Ram seal once more as Hinata held her breath.

##########

Arriving at the bridge to the training grounds, Sasuke landed on his back with his eyes closed in shock and slight pain, though feeling pressure on top of him, he opened his eyes before they widened even further.

Hinata blushed as she realised she fallen on top of Sasuke, then she used her eyes and realised what the pressure on her lips was... they were...

...kissing Sasuke's lips.

Naruto laughed as Hinata and Sasuke leapt apart, though Sasuke fell to his knee off-balance while Hinata just stood blushing, getting used to the feeling of Naruto's shunshin as the blonde himself patted Sasuke on the back with a loud laugh, "Hahaha! You two look so cute together!" he said jokingly, earning himself a glare from Sasuke.

Sasuke climbed to his feet as Hinata felt that she was back at one hundred percent, "The training grounds is this way." She said as she began to walk off.

Naruto offered a supportive hand to Sasuke, "Hey are you okay?" Naruto asked in honest concern.

Sasuke glared at Naruto with a slight blush of embarrassment at the whole situation, expecting a patronising glare of some kind, but pausing as he noticed Naruto's expression. Sasuke glanced at the offered hand and nodded before standing under his own power, "I am." Sasuke said before marching after Hinata.

Naruto smirked at the back of Sasuke's head as he walked away, 'Note to self, let Sasuke keep up his façade of calm and cool, and just maybe... there's a way to get these two making each other stronger without it being a rivalry...' Naruto thought as he followed his team with a scheming chuckle.

Not two minutes later, Hinata led her team-mates into a clearing, pausing as she got to it's edge and pointed at the small sign, "Here we are." she said.

Sasuke and Naruto glanced around the clearing, Naruto smiling at the surroundings while Sasuke frowned as he noticed what wasn't there, "Where is Kakashi?"

Naruto and Hinata blinked as they glanced around, noticing their Sensei's absence as well, "Oh man, you don't think he'll be as late as yesterday do ya?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke frowned at the thought while Hinata shrugged, "Well, this gives us time to set traps and stuff at least." she said as she began to walk across the field.

Sasuke raised a brow, "Traps? For our Sensei?" he asked.

Naruto shrugged as he followed after Hinata, "Well I guess she's right. As ninja odds are he's gonna want to see our skills, which usually means a fight." Naruto said with a frown.

Sasuke scowled as he watched his two team-mates walk away, taking a seat between the training posts before they began to take out ninja wire and objects of the like to see what traps they could make.

Seeing the ninja wire caused Sasuke to smirk, 'Maybe... I can try setting up the multiple angle shuriken trap.' he thought as he glanced off to the side before walking away.

Seeing Sasuke leaving with her Byakugan, Hinata lifted her head to say something when Naruto cut her off, "It's okay, just let him do his own thing. He'll come around." Naruto said with a grin.

Hinata watched Naruto for a moment before he noticed her blush, "Actually, I was going to ask..." she said before looking at Naruto with a pout, "Does Sasuke hate me now?" she asked.

Naruto raised a brow, "Huh? Why do you think that?" He asked curiously as he paused in setting up a burst trap with shuriken.

Hinata looked down and shook her head, "He didn't talk to me and we umm... we just k-kissed." She said as if Naruto hadn't seen it, "And he didn't say anything to me after..." she trailed off.

Naruto paused in his trap making, "Umm, not to judge, but you didn't say anything to him either. I think he's just embarrassed as you probably are considering that blush." Naruto said.

His chuckle increased as Hinata's blush grew stronger at his words, though he held back his laughter as she began nodding and showing Naruto what she had to make more traps and him doing the same as they got back to work.

##########

"This is freakin ridiculous!" Hinata exclaimed.

Naruto and Sasuke leaned back in shock at her sudden outburst, Sasuke was stunned silent while Naruto just smirked after a moment, 'She's going to have to reign in her control of her emotions.' Naruto thought.

Glancing back over to the bridge, Naruto's eyes began to spin as they became long sighted, a somewhat simple skill used by medics to survey injuries and potential traps that he just discovered was enhanced with his new eyes, "I think I see him." Naruto said.

Hinata raised her head before her brows furrowed above her headband/eye cover, "You're right, finally." she said with a smile of slight excitement before it seemed to fade just as quickly, "But... what if we don't pass the test?" she asked her team-mates, sudden worry covering her features.

Sasuke raised a brow at her behaviour, "An Uchiha a Senju and a Hyuuga? As if the council would let someone fail us."

"And that's where you are wrong." Kakashi said as he walked into earshot, "You see as Hinata isn't a Hyuuga anymore, Hiashi is actively trying to take her out of the ninja program. Tsunade has a fair few enemies too, and that could definitely cause strife for Naruto." Kakashi said with an eye smile, "Morning everyone." he said with a casual wave.

Sasuke smirked, "So, I am still guaranteed a place on the team?" Sasuke assumed confidently.

Kakashi looked at Sasuke with his eye-smile still in place, "No. You're not any more important then these two. If fact, the way I hear it you might be the weak link on this team."

A sudden cold breeze swept through the field as Sasuke glared at Kakashi, though the Jonin just smiled on confidently, "Now, do we want to keep talking? Or do you want to see if you have what it takes to become gennin?" Kakashi asked as he reached into his ninja pouch.

Naruto took a defensive step back, basic instinct for a medic as their most crucial to the team's survival. But Kakashi only took out two bells, causing all three gennin to watch in confusion as the Jonin clipped them onto his waist.

"Now, as you can see I have a pair of bells. If you succeed in taking a bell from me before twelve," Kakashi said as he pulled out a small timer, "Then you pass. If not, you will be strapped to a post while those who did and myself get to eat some lunch." Kakashi concluded, "Get what I'm saying?"

Sasuke's stomach rumbled, causing Hinata and Naruto to look at him before Naruto clicked his fingers in realisation, "Oh yeah, Sensei said not to eat..." he said as he shared a look of embarrassment with Hinata.

The ex-hyuuga blushed, "Oops." she mumbled.

Kakashi blinked before sighing, 'Well, at least the starvation tactic worked against one of them.' he thought with a glance to the scowling Sasuke.

Hinata spoke up again as she noticed a slight flaw in Kakashi's test, "But Sensei, you only have two bells..." she said.

Kakashi nodded, "Good you noticed, yes only two of you can pass, and that means that one of you is guaranteed to not only miss lunch," he said with another eye smile, "but also get sent straight back to the academy."

The clearing was silent for a moment before Naruto raised his hand, "Umm, sorry Sensei but are we seriously supposed to believe that?" he asked incredulously.

Sasuke and Hinata looked at Naruto in confusion, letting the blonde be the only one to see the slight one-eyed glare Kakashi was aiming at him, "Of course, it's my job as Jonin Sensei to make sure you are ready for this and if you fail you leave." Kakashi said.

Naruto nodded, "Yeah, but the whole 'sent back to the academy' thing, you can't do that. The standard practice is if we don't make it onto a team we are fast-tracked for a specific skill like for me I'd aim for medic ninja, or Sasuke might become an ANBU Captain, or maybe Hinata becoming one the Hokage Applicants who go into specific training," Naruto paused for a breath, "My point is, you can't dictate whether we – ninja who work for the Hokage – can have our headbands taken away."

After a few moments of silence Kakashi eye smiled, "And what makes you think that?" he asked.

Naruto raised a brow and reached into his left most pouch, bringing out a storage scroll, "Since I moved here I've been studying ninja customs and rules. What you're saying breaks these rules. You are lying." Naruto said seriously.

Kakashi's eye smiled grew, "Ah, I see there's finally a real ninja applying for this team," Kakashi said with a nod, "To be a real ninja, one must learn to look 'Underneath the underneath', that's your last clue for my test." Kakashi said as he placed the timer down on top of the middle log, "Stay logical and you might actually pass the REAL test." Kakashi said as he raised an arm from the timer, letting the three gennin hear the ticking, "You have five seconds before we begin. Show me what it means to be a real ninja." Kakashi said as he reached into his pouch again, "BEGIN!" Kakashi said.

The three gennin leapt into the bushes, causing Kakashi to nod, 'Good, they know that they can't beat a Jonin head on so they're going for stealth...' he thought as he pulled his hand free from his pouch.

##########

Naruto raised a brow, "Are you kidding me? He's reading?" he mumbled to himself as he watched their new Sensei through the bushes.

**POOF**

Naruto glanced over to his right, seeing Hinata calmly walk into the clearing before taking the Hyuuga gentle fist stance before charging, 'What the? She can't really think she can...' Naruto's thoughts trailed off as he saw the real Hinata step out of the bushes behind Kakashi, 'ooooh, good thinking.' Naruto thought as Kakashi looked up at Hinata's Shadow Clone.

Kakashi chuckled as the clone ran forward, "Lesson one, Taijutsu." he said as he moved his arm.

Knowing he couldn't just block a Jyuuken strike, Kakashi used the spine of his book to block her chakra laced pokes, "See this? I'm nullifying your technique completely, so how else would a Hyuuga trained-"

Kakashi's single eye widened before he ducked under the strike of the real Hinata, "Umm... okay." Kakashi said with an obvious off-guard blink, "I didn't even see you do that clone...or are you the clone?" Kakashi asked calmly.

"Or am I the clone?"

Naruto smirked as he stepped out of the clearing, his Hidden Identity Genjutsu making him look like an exact copy of Hinata, causing Kakashi to look between the three of them before turning and suddenly charging at Naruto, 'Nice try Naruto, but your body language is different from Hinata's.' Kakashi thought as he ran forward.

Seeing the Hinatas' follow behind Kakashi, Naruto raised his fist in the air, causing both Byakugan users to see the chakra in his fist and jump just as Naruto punched the ground.

Kakashi's eyes widened as he lost his balance from the ground rumbling so fiercely, managing to land on one foot and use his chakra to stick safely as he noticed two shadows falling at him from above, 'Illusionary clone don't make shadows!' Kakashi thought as he spun and swung his empty hand in a back fist to hit the Hinata on the right.

**POOF**

The Hinata clone was dispersed as the real Hinata reached for the bells at Kakashi's waist, her fingers just barely touching the bell before Kakashi swung his book around and knocked her arm aside before his foot followed up with a kick to her stomach.

"NINJA ART: POISON FOG JUTSU!" Naruto shouted as he spewed forth the purple mist.

Naruto dropped his advanced transformation and formed a Ram seal, disappearing in a shunshin as he landed next to Hinata on the opposite side of the field.

"FIRE STYLE: FIREBALL JUTSU!"

Naruto and Hinata's eyes widened as Sasuke's fireball appeared from the treeline, burning it's way across the field to hit the cloud with an explosion powerful enough that Naruto put his body between it and Hinata to protect her from the heat and the shockwave.

After a few moments, Naruto looked up as Sasuke walked out from the bushes next to them, "Hey Sasuke, good combo." Naruto said with a thumbs up.

Sasuke smirked and nodded at Naruto's words, though they went silent as they heard Kakashi clapping from inside the cloud of smoke and dirt.

Hinata's eyes widened, "How?" Hinata asked with wide eyes as the smoke revealed to show Kakashi was completely unscathed, clapping slowly for a few more seconds before flicking his book open again.

"Very good you three, nice to see you teaming up against me." Kakashi said with an eye smile, "But how will you decide who gets the bells when this is over if it's between the three of you?" Kakashi asked.

Sasuke scowled at that as Naruto smirked slightly, leaning over Hinata for a moment as his green glowing hand rested on her bruised stomach, "Go show him how wrong he is Sasuke! The Uchiha are strong!" Naruto shouted.

Sasuke's whole body seemed to grow a little taller with confidence and focus before he dashed forward as Kakashi, the Jonin's eye squinting as he thought he noticed something about Sasuke's left eye, 'Did it just flash red?'

Sasuke leapt into the fight with a high kick that lead into a sweeping combination that he used to get inside Kakashi's guard, though the Jonin was fast enough to continue blocking and evading .

Naruto nodded as he stood, "Hinata, you're back at one hundred percent, let's go give Sensei something to brag about if he sees Hiashi." Naruto said with a grin.

Hinata nodded as a determined frown rested on her brow, "Right!" She shouted before running in to battle.

Naruto smirked as he watched Hinata and Sasuke slip into attacking Kakashi from opposite sides, making Kakashi focus on blacking Hinata with the spine of his book and blocking Sasuke with his free hand.

Naruto got into a sprinters position as his blue Sharingan began to swirl and he focussed his chakra, 'Ready...' Naruto thought before he formed the Ram seal again.

Kakashi flicked his book around and caught Hinata's twin palm strike in the pages of his book before he closed it, his other hand catching Sasuke's foot in mid air before noticing Sasuke's smirk.

The Uchiha twisted his body in the air, reaching out for the bells which Kakashi only barely managed to keep away from him by pivoting, throwing Sasuke away as he went to step back, completely forgetting about Hinata who leapt up and slammed her chakra laced palms into Kakashi's shoulders.

"AH!" Kakashi shouted in pain that he managed to shake off when he realised the jolt had made him drop his beloved Icha Icha Paradise.

Naruto's eyes widened as he saw an opening, 'Now!' Naruto thought.

In a blur of movement, Naruto had shot forward at Kakashi, picking up Hinata as he grazed the Jonin's side and caught up to the airborne Sasuke to catch him with his other arm, the three of them skidding to a stop as Naruto tripped and rolled with them until their backs thumped softly against the training posts.

There was a moment of silence as the three gennin sat against the posts before Naruto looked up at Kakashi with the bells caught between his teeth, "We got you Sensei! All together!" Naruto exclaimed as the bells fell from his mouth.

Sasuke stood quickly as he swiped a bell from Naruto, "Thanks for the catch Senju." Sasuke said as he held the bell up to eye level, looking at it as if he was making sure it was the real one, which it was.

Hinata looked up at the bells in her team-mates hands and smiled as she grabbed Naruto's hand with the bell in it, "We did it!" she shouted excitedly.

Kakashi looked down at his waist and blinked, "Huh...well I gotta be honest I'm shocked..." Kakashi said as if he totally wasn't, "Anyways, you guys pass!" Kakashi said with an eye smile.

**BEEP BEEP BEEP**

Kakashi looked over at the alarm clock he had set down, 'Wow, even before the time limit too...' Kakashi thought as he looked over the three gennin, 'To think that they work so well together, and the fact that they have a medic with the two Taijutsu powerhouses means they can just keep going if need be.' Kakashi thought with an eye smile as he watched the three gennin celebrate and smile to each other.

##########

"Hello Team 7," Hiruzen said with a smile as Kakashi walked his team into the Hokage's office, though his smile rested slightly longer on Naruto then the other two, "I am happy to see you passed a team Kakashi." Hiruzen said.

Kakashi scratched the back of his head with an eye smile, "Yeah well, after their surprising display of teamwork I couldn't NOT let them pass." he said before looking back down at his book, "So can we have a D-rank? Just something simple to get us started if you don't mind." Kakashi asked.

Hiruzen nodded as he looked down at the beginner missions for the Rookie teams, "We have the monthly dump clean up if you want that? I think your team would actually be quite well suited to that one." he said as he took the furthest scroll from him and tossed it towards the team.

Without looking up from his book, Kakashi caught the scroll with his free hand and nodded, "Sounds good to me, we'll see you after the mission then." Kakashi said with a nod before turning and walking back out the office door.

The rest of the team moved behind him as they left, though Naruto was the last out as he looked at the Hokage and shared a wide grin with him before the Hokage gestured him for to move along.

Jogging up behind his new team, Naruto stepped into place behind Hinata as she and Sasuke walked behind Kakashi, "So, do you guys know how we keep the village waste free?" Kakashi asked as he lead the way through the Hokage Tower.

Naruto had no idea, so he looked to the locals for answers, only to see that they were both as blank as he was, "No." Sasuke said shortly.

Kakashi nodded, "Alright then, Hinata, how many clones are you capable of making?" Kakashi asked.

Hinata frowned, "Umm, if I really push it I think I could make two at a time?" she said.

Kakashi tilted his head, "Hmm, okay sounds good." he said with a nod before he picked up his pace, "Well, I'm honestly not once known to rush things, but I rather we finish this mission before it gets too late, otherwise we'll have to do extra." he said as he lead them from the tower to Konoha's dump.

##########

"Alright guys, this is what we'll do," Kakashi began to explain as the four of them stopped at a set of really tall gates that sat all the way out behind the Hokage Monument, "We each get a Hinata to go into the dump with, her Byakugan is the best tool we have in locating the Storage Seals but they're only activated with these seals," Kakashi said as he unrolled the mission scroll and lifted the small sheets rolled up within it, "Which is a corresponding activation seal to make them suck in the rubbish. There'll then be a few things that are left over for us to sweep into a pile where I'll have Sasuke use his Fireball to destroy the scrolls and thus rid us of the rubbish." Kakashi explained.

The trio nodded as Hinata took a deep breath and nodded, "Okay..." Hinata said as she held the cross seal and pushed her chakra hard, "SHADOW CLONE JUTSU!" she shouted at the top of her lungs.

**POOF**

Two more Hinata's popped into existence as the real one fell to her knees, though Naruto was quickly by her side forming hand seal.

"Very good," Kakashi said as Naruto began to restore some of Hinata's chakra, "Alright, each Hinata start leading the way to the six seals, I reckon two each everyone?" he said as he began to walk off.

One of the Hinata clones began to jog after Kakashi as Sasuke turned to the other clone since Naruto was still channelling chakra into the original's coils, "Lead away." Sasuke said with a smirk as he stepped aside.

The clone nodded and began to lead the way as it looked for the seals, Sasuke following along closely behind.

Naruto and the real Hinata stood up together after a few more moments, "Good to go?" Naruto asked.

Hinata nodded and blinked on her Byakugan underneath her headband, "Yes, this way." she said as she spotted a Seal.

#########

Kakashi let the Hinata clone lead him towards the far corner of the junk yard, "So Hinata, tell me about how you learned the Shadow Clone." Kakashi said without looking up from his book.

Hinata nodded, "An old Sensei of ours tried to use me to steal the forbidden scroll, but in the end Naruto, Shino and I managed to stop him. But before that, I learned the Shadow Clone Jutsu from the scroll." Hinata said.

Kakashi nodded, "Oh that was you three? So I guess something Naruto did is the reason for his odd eyes?" Kakashi asked.

Hinata paled, "W-what odd eyes? I don't know what you're talking about." she said as she pointed up to the fence, "Here's the first seal."

Kakashi blinked at her reaction, 'Hm? Is it a secret that he has that blue Sharingan?' he thought as he walked up to the seal and placed a hand on it, 'Maybe I should go see Tsunade-sama, it has been a long time, if I were thirty years older...' he thought with slightly perverted chuckle.

Hinata frowned at her Sensei as he completely zoned out from the task at hand and began chuckling weirdly, "Umm, Sensei?" she asked as she poked his side.

"Eh?" Kakashi asked, "What's up Hinata?" he asked.

Her frown increased as she pointed at the seal again, "Oh, right." Kakashi said before activating the seal.

**POOF**

Hinata waved the smoke from her face as she coughed, looking up to see Kakashi holding a standard storage scroll with an eye smile, "One more then we're done."

##########

"So where is it?" Sasuke said as he and the Hinata clone walked to the center of the junk yard.

Hearing no answer, Sasuke turned to his copy of Hinata, seeing that she was searching for the seal with her eyes, though he couldn't help but notice the slight blush on her face, "This way." she said before turning away.

Sasuke looked down with a sigh, 'This might be troublesome...' he thought before jolting straight, 'What the hell... don't change into that Naara weakling.' Sasuke thought to himself as he followed behind the clone.

They paused at the foot of a large pile of junk as Hinata pointed up, "See up there on the rigging? That's for this middle section." she explained.

Sasuke nodded, "Let's go then." he said before they began to leap up the large pile.

They got to the top where Sasuke frowned at the distance still left between him and it and sighed, 'It would've been less effort to come across the rigging in the first place.' Sasuke thought as he sent chakra to his feet and leapt up to stick upside-down on the rigging with his chakra.

Hinata looked up as Sasuke sent chakra into the seal.

**POOF**

"Ah!" Hinata shouted in shock as all of the rubbish that she was standing on top of disappeared into the Storage Scroll that appeared in Sasuke's hand.

Sasuke looked back down at Hinata as she fell limply through the air, "Hinata!" Sasuke shouted as he pushed off the rigging.

Hinata was about to flip around to land on her feet when she noticed the shift of Sasuke grabbed her, flipping the two of them around so that he landed in a crouch with Hinata in his arms, the storage scroll in his teeth.

Sasuke stood as Hinata balanced by grabbing his neck, though before she could look up at him, he semi-dropped her so that her feet hit the ground, "Don't be so foolish ya idiot, you almost broke your neck." Sasuke said with a frown.

Hinata frowned right back at him, her earlier awkwardness gone as she bristled in unhidden anger, "For your information Sasu-gay I was completely fine on my own there, and who cares if I fell anyway? I'm just a clone." she said with a frown.

Sasuke had just put the scroll in his pocket when Hinata had spoken up, making him turn to her with an incredulous look, "What?" he asked.

Hinata's angered demeanour instantly faltered at his shocked look, realising that he'd never had been call him names before as the famous Last Uchiha, so she just smirked as she marched past him and off towards the next seal, "You heard me Sasu-gay. Now let's keep going." she said as she walked away.

Sasuke glared at the back of her head before marching behind her angrily.

##########

Naruto walked alongside the original Hinata, "So, what do you think of all this Hinata?" he asked casually.

Hinata glanced at him as she continued to lead them towards the seal she could see with her Byakugan, "All of what Naruto?"

Naruto shrugged, "Well, moving in with Mom, me and Shizu-nee, being put on Sasuke's and my team, Sensei's apparently reoccurring lateness, all of it." he said curiously, purposefully not mentioning the reason for the scar on her tummy.

Hinata shrugged as she looked down, "I... I'm still not really sure, but I think I made the right choice," she said before smiling at Naruto, "And I feel really at home with you Naruto, like I'm..." she began before blushing and looking down.

Naruto raised a brow as he put a comforting hand on her shoulder, "Please say what you're thinking, I don't like not knowing." Naruto said, trying to be kind as he fished for information.

Hinata looked up at Naruto slightly nervously, "Like... I'm finally part of a real family." she said with a nervous smile.

Naruto grinned as he put his arm around her shoulders in a friendly manner, "Of course you're part of the family," he said before turning his grin to her, "Hina-nee?" Naruto said questioningly.

Hinata paused as she stared at Naruto with wide eyes, "R-really?" she asked in shock, though she consciously noticed her stutter for once.

Naruto grinned and nodded, "Why not? You know about me being adopted, and though I gotta be honest, I'm not sure if Mom wants to adopt another kid, but other then on paper," he said before holding a hand out to her in a hand shake as he stepped in front of her, "Wanna be my little sister?" Naruto asked, nervous, hopeful and overwhelming happiness visible in his stance.

Hinata nodded quickly as she laughed and jumped past Naruto's outstretched hand to hug him around the neck, "Nii-san!" Hinata cheered excitedly as Naruto caught her and they laughed happily. The two paused after a moment as Hinata leaned back, "Oh, the seal." she said as she looked at the pile right in front of them.

Naruto blinked as he looked at the pile, "How are we supposed to get it?" he asked, thinking it was under the pile.

Hinata shook her head as she slid out of Naruto's hug, though she grabbed his wrist as she ran around the side of the pile, "It's on the wall behind it!" she exclaimed.

##########

"Well it looks like we did a good job guys," Kakashi said as he and his three gennin stood around the six pieces of paper that contained all of the garbage and trash, "Now, who knows a fire Ninjutsu?" he asked, looking at Sasuke expectantly.

Sasuke smirked and nodded, though he looked to the side as he noticed Naruto raise his hand, "Umm, I know one as well." Naruto mumbled.

Kakashi eye smiled at Naruto as Sasuke scowled, "Oh really? What fire Ninjutsu is that?" Kakashi curiously.

Naruto smiled and formed hand seals before looking up, "FIRE STYLE: FIREBALL JUTSU!" Naruto shouted before bringing his hands to his lips and spewing the fireball up into the air, "It's a Konoha standard right?" Naruto asked.

Kakashi nodded as Sasuke glared, "It is, though mostly the Chunnin are taught it," he said before looking at Sasuke, "So, what about you?" Kakashi asked.

Wanting to show that he was better, Sasuke formed the same set of hand seals, but finished with Horse Seal after the standard Tiger Seal before bringing his hand up to his mouth, "FIRE STYLE: GRAND FIREBALL JUTSU!" Sasuke shouted as he spat the fireball that was at least double the size of Naruto's if not triple.

Everyone stared bug-eyed at the massive ball of flame shot up into the air, "Sasuke... if we're entering an unknown battle situation I want that to be your first response. With any luck it'll be a quick battle thanks to you." Kakashi said.

Sasuke smirked and nodded, "Hn. Easy enough." he said confidently, knowing his Uchiha Training went way further into Fire Style Ninjutsu then any other. Seeing that his team-mates were now staring at him rather then the ball, he frowned, "What?" he asked.

Naruto pointed at Sasuke's face, "Dude, your eyes." Naruto said with a slowly growing smile.

Sasuke raised a brow as he saw a blur around his team all of a sudden, 'Chakra signatures?' Sasuke thought for a moment as his red eyes span, one tomoe in each eye.

Hinata pointed, "You've got the Sharingan Sasuke!" She exclaimed.

Sasuke's face showed a smirk as he sent chakra to his eyes, the entire world tinging red as the chakra signatures glowed dimly against the background, "Finally..." Sasuke said as he held his face.

Kakashi eye smiled at Sasuke, 'Well, it's good to see his hard work has paid off.' he thought before noticing Hinata's two shadow clones that had gone with him and Sasuke sitting at the back of the group with the scrolls in had, "Oh yeah," he said in realisation, making Sasuke Naruto and Hinata turn to him, "Hold them up high girls, Sasuke, Naruto, why not one each?" Kakashi suggested.

Hinata's eyes widened, "You're having them burn my clones? B-but it'll hurt when I get the chakra memories..." she said.

Kakashi nodded, "Unfortunately, that's why we're doing it this way. We can't have the real you flinching in pain or hesitating every time a clone pops." Kakashi explained.

Hinata pouted as she looked over at her slightly scared clones, she waved goodbye as they returned the gesture, a scroll in their grasps as they looked at Sasuke and Naruto.

Sasuke nodded to the clones as Naruto gave an apologetic smile, the two of them forming hand seals in unison before Naruto glanced at Sasuke, his eyes copying the movement of chakra as he added a Horse Seal like Sasuke, ""FIRE STYLE: GRAND FIREBALL JUTSU!"" they shouted before spewing forth their jutsu.

Naruto's fireball was now twice as large, though Sasuke's practice and control with the jutsu allowed his to still remain bigger and faster as the two fireballs destroyed the clones and the scrolls.

Sasuke's Sharingan turned to Naruto angrily, "You just copied my jutsu!" Sasuke exclaimed as he breathed heavily.

Naruto's eyes widened, "I just wanted to make my one a little better... is that wrong?" Naruto asked, honestly not sure.

Kakashi sighed, "Naruto, you just took something that Sasuke worked incredible hard to achieve. How would you like it if he stole your Mystical Palm Healing with his Sharingan?" Kakashi asked.

Naruto blinked, "Umm... really happy?" he said incredulously, "Cause what if I get taken out in a mission? Then he can heal Hinata and you a little better then right now, just like with this fireball, if Sasuke's one is actually stopped somehow, then wouldn't it make sense to have another one ready to go?" Naruto asked, knowing already that saying Sasuke might be defeated started a fight.

Sasuke frowned as his glare faded, "Well... let me copy it then." Sasuke said.

Naruto grinned and turned to Sasuke, "Cool okay!" Naruto said with a grin.

As Naruto began to explain the first basic medical jutsu, Kakashi looked over at Hinata to see how the girl was handling the feeling of being burned, only to raise a brow as he saw her blushing and glancing up at Sasuke, 'And here I thought she was the only one that wasn't a fangirl.' Kakashi thought with a sigh.

##########

"Congratulations on your first D-rank Mission," the Third said with a smile, "How did it go Kakashi?" Hiruzen asked.

Kakashi eye smiled, "Pretty much perfectly, even a little quicker then we thought." Kakashi said with a nod towards the clock, indicating that it had barely been an hour.

Hiruzen smiled and nodded, "Team 8 has only just left on their first mission and Asuma's team left a while ago. So that leaves only two missions left," Hiruzen said as he placed down two scrolls, "Now I know that no one ever wants the Tora Escape mission but what a surprise, she ran again." Hiruzen said before reaching for the other one.

"Actually," Kakashi said, "The Tora mission may very well be a challenge for these three. We'll take it." he said with an eye smile.

##########

"GOT YOU!" Naruto shouted as he dove from the bush.

Tora – a brown fat cat with a pink ribbon on it's ear and a blue collar – screeched before it dove out of his way, barely moving out of his grasp in time before it blurred away at high speed, even for an animal.

"He's totally lost his cool," Sasuke mumbled as he watched the usually calm and collective Naruto run around like a ticked off child, "Can you see it?" Sasuke asked from his place in the tree with Hinata.

She nodded, her Byakugan flaring, "Yes, this way." she said as she began to leap of to their right.

"STUPID CAT I'M SICK OF THIS STUPID MISSION!" Naruto shouted as he lost his cool and leapt up through the air and out of the shrubbery again, making the cat run off towards the sunset.

Naruto paused at that before his brow twitched, "THE SUN'S SETTING?! WE'VE BEEN AT THIS FOR HOURS!" Naruto exclaimed, making the cat jump in shock and run away again, this time back towards the village.

The cat turned a corner around the first building and leapt up, being snatched out of the air before it was rolled onto it's back and forced to look up, seeing Sasuke's Sharingan eyes as he quickly began to scratch it's belly.

The cat paused and began to purr as Hinata landed next to him.

Naruto turned the corner, "I swear I'm gonna-!"

"Good work you three," Kakashi said, making the three look up at the man as he casually read his book from the guttering on the roof above them, "Naruto, good herding. Hinata, fantastic tracking and Sasuke, well I'd say those hands are going to make a woman very happy some day." he said without looking up from his book.

Sasuke and Naruto raised a brow at Kakashi's words, while Hinata's blush came back at full throttle, glancing at the purring cat in Sasuke's arms.

"Well, another mission done, and to think it's only our first day." Naruto said as he glared at the cat.

##########

Chapter End.

Hey everyone, sorry for the lack of updates with this story, my head is really in the mindset of one of my other stories – The Ultimate Ninja Tool – but I do plan to continue the other ones ASAP.

Love ya and leave ya, please R&amp;R, Alky out!


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six: Cursed from the beginning.

(A/N: for answers to the multitude of versions of the same question concerning who's  
who's love interest, read the bit after 'Chapter End')

"_AAAAH!"_

_**SNAP**_

_It's hurts... please stop_

_**CRUNCH**_

"_P-p-please..."_

"_Shut up Demon!"_

"_Monster!"_

"_Murderer!"_

_##########_

**BEEP BEEP BE-**

**SMASH**

Naruto pulled his fist back from his destroyed alarm clock, he leaned forward, resting his head in his hands, 'I'm awake... it's not real...' Naruto thought for a moment, taking deep breaths before glancing over to his alarm clock and sighing, "Not again."

Removing himself from bed, Naruto clapped his hands so that the Genjutsu that made him Tsunade Senju's son activated slowly while he looked out his window up at the Hokage mountain, smiling at the three Hokage he either had met or respected as part of his mother's clan; the Senju.

**Knock Knock**

Naruto glanced over at the door as his Genjutsu finished settling over his body, "It's open." Naruto said.

The door opened, Hinata sticking her head in the gap as she smiled, "Tsubaki has already prepared our breakfast Naruto-nii." She said with a happy smile.

Naruto nodded to her with a smile, watching as she retreated back out, though she left the door open to make sure he was getting up, 'This time last month I was the one looking after her, now she's the one checking up on me.' he thought with a smirk as he stood and began to get changed.

Five minutes later, Naruto stepped out of his room as he wrapped his headband around his hips like a belt, "Smells great!" Naruto exclaimed as he walked over to the small table against his glass door to the balcony.

Hinata turned her gaze from the outside world and the road to her own compound to Naruto as he sat down, "It really is today, I _love_ cinnamon rolls." she said as she ate the aforementioned food from her plate.

Naruto smiled at Hinata as he noticed her restful expression, and also, her restful attire, "Umm, Hina-nee, why are you still in your Pj's?" Naruto asked.

Hinata paused, her cheeks bulging with food as she looked down at her clothes, "Oh... I umm..." she began with a blush.

Naruto smirked, able to read her every expression like a book now, "Thanks Hinata." Naruto said earnestly.

Hinata's blush increased as she leaned down and lifted a new alarm clock from it's hiding place, a little red bow stuck on top with a small line of tape, "You always seem to break them when you've had nightmares..." she said before pausing.

Naruto froze halfway through having his first mouthful, "You heard me then." Naruto said softly as he put the food down.

Hinata nodded as she actually put down the food to reach over and take Naruto's hand, "Is it... about the night you met Weasel-san?" Hinata asked.

Naruto's face turned into a sad smile, squeezing Hinata's hands once before shaking his head and standing, "No, it was before he was assigned, back before Weasel took me to Kaa-san." Naruto explained as he turned away from the table, standing to walk over to the kitchenette.

Hinata looked down sadly at the alarm clock, sad that she might have upset Naruto.

"Well, looks like Sasuke is looking forward to the day." Naruto said as he looked out the kitchenette window absent-mindedly.

Hinata looked up at Naruto, glad for the distraction, though she blushed as she stood, "Sasuke is on his way here?" she asked.

Naruto turned back to her and smiled, "Yep, I can see him walking over, look." Naruto said as he pointed to the side.

Hinata moved quickly over to Naruto, cinnamon stick in hand as her eyes followed where he was pointing to see Sasuke walking down the street with an apple in his hand before turning to take the road that would lead onto their front door.

Naruto smirked as Hinata's eyes widened and she looked down at her clothes, "Better freshen up if you want to impress my soon-to-be brother-in-law." Naruto said teasingly.

Hinata glared at Naruto with an embarrassed blush, "Sh-shut up, I don't even like him." she said before running off to her room and slamming the door behind her.

Naruto smirked before looking back out the window, his vision slightly blocked by his own reflection. His new dojutsu – the recently named Uzugan – looking back at him, though he frowned at the memory of telling his team the name he and his mother came up with, 'They can not like it all they want, it's my dojutsu so I'm naming it what I want.' he thought as a smirk replaced the frown once again.

Naruto turned with a stretch as he relaxed and tightened all the muscles in his body and yawned one last time, 'Well time to get the day started.' he thought as he nodded to his reflection.

Naruto walked over to the balcony and opened the door, seeing Sasuke bow to Tsunade as the two passed each other, "Cya Kaa-san!" Naruto exclaimed as he began waving.

Tsunade turned to Naruto and smiled as she waved back, "See you this afternoon Naruto, remember we have a training session scheduled at four okay?" Tsunade reminded him.

Naruto nodded with a grin, "Yeah I remember." Naruto said.

Tsunade nodded to him before turning back to Sasuke and saying something that Naruto could only know thanks to his eyes automatically lip-reading, "Will you be joining us today?" she asked.

Sasuke smirked slightly and nodded, "Yes. I have another Fire Ninjutsu scroll to learn but I may need some... guidance." he said hesitantly, finding it difficult to ask for help, even from his new friends' mom.

Tsunade nodded, "Tell you what, we're having another person come and help and his main natures are Fire and Earth. He'll be able to give you some good pointers." Tsunade said.

Naruto smirked as he watched Sasuke nod before they parted ways, the Uchiha nodding to Naruto as the blonde stepped back inside and moved over to the fridge.

Grabbing a jug of fresh orange juice and three cups, Naruto turned back towards the balcony as Sasuke landed on it from his jump, "Morning Sasuke." Naruto said.

Sasuke nodded and sat on the single chair next to the small table on his balcony, "Hn." he said simply, not sounding arrogant any more at least, just acknowledging the statement.

Naruto moved to the other side of the table, placing the jug down as he got to work acting as a host, "Do you think Sensei will actually teach us something new today? He hasn't really been bothered since he found out we could already tree-climb." Naruto said curiously before sitting on half of the two seater.

Sasuke shrugged, "He's been saying he will for a while now. I doubt today's any different." he said.

Naruto sighed and nodded, "I guess you're right," he said as he lifted his cup, "Cheers." Naruto said with a smirk.

Sasuke mirrored the smirk and moved his drink from his lips, "Hn." he grunted as their cups clanged.

##########

"Okay everyone," Kakashi said as he appeared in a plume of smoke with a scroll in hand, "We got a mission."

Naruto sat up from his place laying on the ground, "Where do you spend all your time Sensei? It's been an hour longer then usual!" Naruto exclaimed.

Sasuke opened one eye, the first movement he made since he lay down in the first place, "Just give us the mission and let's get started." he said calmly.

Kakashi blinked at the two boys before looking at Hinata, the girl pivoting from foot to foot as she slammed her palms at the log in front of her, "Well, since Hinata's the only one using this time properly she can have the honours." Kakashi said as he held the scroll to her.

Hinata smiled and nodded as her Byakugan eyes read the scroll from behind her headband, "It's... a C-rank?" she asked as she paused.

Naruto and Sasuke jolted to their feet, "A C-rank? Doing what?" Naruto asked.

Kakashi eye smiled as he tossed the scroll up into the air, Hinata catching it as she nodded to her Sensei and began to read again, "It's an out of village delivery mission. We're to take a chest of a recently deceased woman's things to her family that work as farmers in a nearby village," Hinata began with a slowly saddening look, "She came here to die... her lover used to be a Leaf ninja and she spent her last year living at his old place and taking care of his pet until it passed away as well..." Hinata said softly.

There was a moment of silence before Sasuke stood, "The dead can't pass on until their soul is put to rest," Sasuke said seriously before turning to Hinata and Naruto, "We need to do this mission now." Sasuke said before looking up at Kakashi.

The Jonin eye smiled at Sasuke, "I agree. You have one hour til we meet at the northern gate. This mission will probably take until late tonight or tomorrow so pack for an overnight trip. If we're lucky, they might have somewhere we can stay for the night." Kakashi said.

The team nodded as they stood in unison, "See you at the gate Sasuke, Sensei." Naruto said with a wave.

Hinata bowed to the two of them and smiled at Sasuke, "Yes, see you in an hour." she said before turning and jogging after Naruto, the two of them beginning to run together back home.

Naruto glanced over his shoulder at Sasuke as the Uchiha said his parting words to their Sensei, 'Is that why he's so driven to kill Itachi? Does he believe killing him put the rest of his clans' souls to rest?' Naruto thought before looking forward and his eyes widening as he was only a few steps from running into a shopping cart.

Hinata grabbed his arm and jumped, making him follow so that they would dodge it and land on a nearby roof together, "Careful Nii-san," she said with a smile before dashing off, "Race you there!"

Naruto grinned and used his perfect chakra control to leap nearly double the distance she could, "As if I'd lose!" Naruto said happily as they raced into the distance.

#########

_An hour later_

Naruto leapt through the air with a grin on his face, pushing twice up before leaping even higher off a street light. He turned, looking down at Hinata as the girl leapt in the exact same pattern he did to catch up, 'I wonder if she realises how much faster she's gotten since moving in with us. She tracked down Kaa-san and told her about our mission in less time then it took for me to pack our things.' Naruto thought as he spun into a back flip, landing on top of a sign that he stayed on for a moment.

Hinata landed next to him, a smile on her lips as she tightened the single piece of rope over her shoulder that was connected to her own Sealing Scroll, just like Naruto had, "What're we waiting for Naruto-nii?" Hinata asked.

Naruto smiled, "Thought you should lead the way." he said.

Hinata smirked, "Cause I'm the tracker and you're the healer, okay." she said, having heard Naruto's reasoning numerous times herself.

Naruto nodded as she lead the way, 'Not that far to go anyway.' he thought as they took the last twenty or so seconds of travel.

"Sup." Sasuke mumbled as he suddenly leapt up from the road to join them, though instead of a storage scroll, Sasuke had a backpack on.

Naruto grinned as he landed next to Sasuke, the two of them leaping through the air one final time, "Hey Sasuke! Aren't you excited for our first C-rank?!" Naruto asked.

Sasuke shrugged, "I guess." he mumbled.

Hinata smiled as the three of them landed, "I am, I haven't been outside of the village walls since I was a child." Hinata said.

Sasuke blinked at that before smirking, "Well... yeah I'm the same I guess." Sasuke mumbled as he remembered collecting Cat Paw Prints for a certain book.

Naruto turned, his eyes trailing the area with a slowly growing frown as he noticed something, "Aaaand Sensei's late again, this is getting very old, very quick." Naruto mumbled.

"No it's not," Kakashi said as he stuck his head out from behind a small cart, "Because unfortunately the Hokage sort of dumped the late client's stuff on me ten minutes ago." Kakashi said as he turned and gestured towards the cart.

The group looked at each other for a moment before Sasuke pointed at Naruto, "He's got super strength." Sasuke said shortly.

Naruto frowned, but before he could talk back Hinata spoke, "I agree, I am needed to scout and Naruto-nii can push it quicker then me."

Kakashi eye smiled as Naruto's frown increased, "Well I'm glad that was easy to decide. Naruto, saddle up." Kakashi said jokingly as he patted Naruto's shoulder.

Naruto sighed as he walked over to the cart. It looked like the type that would usually be dragged by a mule or something, in fact, there was also room for a single person to sit on at the front, so he grinned as he formed a cross seal, "SHADOW CLONE JUTSU!" Naruto exclaimed.

Hinata grinned and Sasuke rose a brow at Naruto's use of the technique, making two clones to get under the two poles for them to push the cart forward from the front while the real Naruto leapt up onto the drivers chair, "Ready for transport!" Naruto exclaimed.

Kakashi eye smiled, "Good work Naruto. Hinata, Sasuke, what's the plan?" Kakashi asked.

Sasuke just nodded to Hinata as the girl smirked, "I'll take point and keep charge. Sensei take up the rear guard just in case. Hinata and a clone on either side of the cart to cover all bases with her vision." Sasuke said, more ordered then suggested.

Hinata smiled and nodded to Kakashi as she formed a hand sign that matched Naruto's earlier one, "SHADOW CLONE JUTSU!" she shouted.

Hinata took the left side of the cart as her clone stood on the right, Kakashi eye smiling as he pulled out his book, "Alright, let's get going then." Kakashi said.

Sasuke began to lead the way down towards the northern gate, Naruto sitting with a grin on his face as his clones began to push the cart with a fair amount of ease, 'Looks like this'll be over in no time.' the real Naruto thought as his grin grew.

The group was quiet as they moved further and further away from the village. The only sounds other then nature being that of their footsteps and the cart.

##########

Four hours had passed when Naruto noticed both Hinata and her clone stiffen before looking to the group's left, "Hinata?" Naruto asked.

His simple question put Sasuke on guard as Kakashi smirked behind his mask, 'I wonder if she spotted all of them...' Kakashi thought, having sensed the presences just a few moments earlier.

"A small group of bandits, fifteen in total. Five of them are about to step into our path while the other ten seem to be setting up a trap of some sort." Hinata reported.

Naruto looked back at Kakashi, seeing the man was clearly more interested in his book, he turned back to Sasuke, "Hey Sasuke, what's the plan?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke looked over his shoulder, "Get rid of the clones for now. Naruto be ready to take the left side. Hinata, you take those to our right when we stop. I'll attack those in front of us," he said before raising his voice, "Can you take care of the cart Sensei?" Sasuke asked.

Kakashi glanced up from his book, "Huh? Yeah yeah sure..." he mumbled as he continued reading.

The trio of gennin frowned at him, then Sasuke looked at Naruto pointedly, "Our first point of contact will be me. When I jump over them, I want you to throw them off balance Naruto. Hinata, when he does take that as your signal to go. Got it?"

""Hai Sasuke!"" Naruto and Hinata exclaimed.

**POOF**

Naruto dropped down into the pushing position as the clones disappeared, Hinata moving to stand next to Sasuke as Kakashi hopped up onto the seat on the cart, "Mush." Kakashi said jokingly to Naruto.

The blonde frowned up at Kakashi as he pushed the cart, "You're mean Sensei." he complained.

"They'll be in view soon. Their scout has just run back to them and... wow, they're posing." Hinata mumbled.

Sasuke raised a brow, "Posing?" he asked.

She nodded, "Yeah... one of them has taken what I assume he thinks is a threatening stance with two swords... but I think they're more for show. One of them has a bow and arrow that he's holding wrong... there only seems to be four or five that actually look like they've used their weapons before." she said.

Naruto chuckled, "Seriously? You sure it isn't an act?" Naruto asked.

Kakashi spoke up as they turned the corner slightly so that they were going downhill, "You'd be surprised Naruto. A lot of civilians who take this road would've been mugged by a group like this. But unfortunately for them, we just happen to be ninjas." Kakashi said.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed as he saw the shine of light hitting metal. Only a few seconds later, the so called bandits were suddenly in view as they spread out to block the road. For some reason the group began laughing as Team 7 came close.

Sasuke held up a fist, signalling for the teams' halt, "Excuse us." Sasuke asked once.

The group of five laughed as the tallest man with a spear stepped forward, "How about this, you three children leave this cart and we'll leave you and the old man alone aye?" he said as he thrust forward with his spear.

Sasuke made a show of stepping to the side, grabbing the spear and pulling the man off balance as he disarmed him and then used the blunt end to shove him back, "Excuse us." Sasuke said once again, though this time with the spear in his hand.

There was a second of silence as the curiosity got the better of Naruto. He glanced up at Kakashi, only to raise a brow as the man had apparently used the transformation jutsu to look exactly like what the bandit said, an old man.

"Take them!"

Naruto looked forward again as the group of bandits charged Sasuke and Hinata. Sasuke threw the spear, lodging it in the first man's gut before leaping up into the air over the group.

Naruto pushed forward and slammed his fist into the ground, causing a small tremor which caused two men to fall out from their hiding places in the trees while all of the others fell of balance.

Naruto looked up to see Hinata had leapt upwards and over the cart behind them, so Naruto turned to the group's right as five men stumbled out of the trees, all of them obviously caught off guard from his manoeuvre as his Uzugan span.

Naruto landed in front of the largest of the group and punched him in the stomach, throwing him back into two others and making the larger man land on their weapons. The two remaining bandits turned in shock to stare at their comrade as he shock back into the trees, giving Naruto the chance to leap towards the enemy with a battle shuriken.

Naruto gripped it's centre as the bandit looked at him in shock, "Thanks!" Naruto exclaimed as he punched the guy in the face, sending him flying like a rocket as Naruto span and threw the shuriken just like he had copied from Mizuki, embedding the weapon into the last bandit's stomach.

Naruto glanced over at Sasuke as the gennin's foot smashed into a target's throat. Naruto then glanced at Hinata, seeing her palm graze a target's chest for barely a second before the man fell to his knees coughing blood.

Naruto looked ahead again to see the two he had knocked back using the fatter bandit staring at him with fear evident in their features even as they ran forward with their swords, 'To easy.' he thought as he formed a single Ram Seal.

The two bandits shouted as they swung their blades, but Naruto used a shunshin to pass between them and grab their attacking wrists on the way, twisting the two so that they stabbed each other in the torso.

Naruto appeared standing on the stomach of the barely alive man he had initially punched, the two that he had just attacked falling down dead, "Well, that was easier then I thought it'd be." Naruto said with a smirk before calmly gripping the man's neck and squeezing.

**CRACK**

Naruto nodded to himself, 'Done and done.' he thought as he turned away from the five corpses and came back to his team.

Naruto nodded as he watched Sasuke lodge a kunai into his last attacker's shoulder before repeating the same on the other. Naruto was about to speak up when Hinata shot past him.

Naruto looked back to see Hinata's palm slammed into one of the bandit's chest, one of the two Naruto had made impale a friend had apparently survived for a little while.

And now he dropped dead.

"Very good you three."

Sasuke, Naruto and Hinata looked up at Kakashi as the transformation jutsu faded to show him sitting on a fully tied up and conscious captive, "When did you even do that Sensei?" Naruto asked.

Kakashi eye smiled, "Sasuke told me to protect the cart. So I did when this guy snuck up from down there." Kakashi said as he pointed under the cart.

The trio of gennin squatted to see a hole dug out underneath the cart, making Hinata frown, "I didn't even notice him..." she mumbled, knowing that she had missed one.

"Note for next time." Sasuke said to her as he blinked off his basic Sharingan.

Kakashi glanced around, "So... what are you guys going to do about them? We can't transport them all for medical attention but if we leave them here those that live may just start up again and hurt more people." he said.

Naruto smirked, "I got an idea."

##########

"Mush!" Naruto exclaimed from his place sitting atop the cart.

Four of the six bandits that had survived now pushed the cart, Naruto having given them medical attention enough that they could walk and drag the cart with the mule harnesses while he basically rendered their arms dead weight with the promise that he'll fix them if they help.

"I see the farm Sensei." Hinata reported from her place at the front of the group.

Kakashi nodded and glanced behind him at the two bandits that were chained together with one of their own weapons, the rest of the weapons and supplies from the bandits being carried by the them, "You're going to stay quiet and follow my orders or else okay? A single step out of line..." he said as he moved his headband and glared at them, making them shiver in fear, "Well... you'll find out." Kakashi promised before moving his headband again and looking ahead.

Sasuke glanced over the group and nodded to himself as they continued, a few minutes later the first farmer's property came into view, 'Not long now...' Sasuke thought.

##########

"R-really?" One of the bandits asked.

The ridiculously muscled man nodded before looking at Kakashi and the others, "I've been in that spot before. And if Mimori here and her parents hadn't found and taken care of me... I'd probably either be out there robbing people still or I'd be dead." the client said before shrugging, "We need some hands on the farm for the winter anyway, what do you say?" he asked.

Kakashi placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder to shut him up as he was about to speak, "It's not our business, and if he can make honest men out of these thieves then I say let it happen." Kakashi said.

Naruto nodded as he looked over the group, his Uzugan letting him see little ticks and twitches that for the most part would otherwise go unnoticed by many. Many did not include Hinata and her Byakugan.

"Sensei, the one at the back is lying. The others seem genuinely happy to have an actual job but he's already hidden two weapons and pocketed a watch he stole from the client." Hinata reported softly.

Kakashi nodded, "I know." he said with a sigh before walking over to the aforementioned bandit.

Naruto and Sasuke turned their attention back to the client as he gave the five in front of him small jobs to do for the rest of the day to see if they'd earn a warm place to sleep for the winter, 'We got to help more people then I thought we would.' Naruto thought with a quiet smile.

"Thank you for these!"

Naruto glanced over and chuckled as the woman of the house – who to his earlier surprise was even more muscular then her husband – hugged Sasuke and Hinata to her, "We have dinner for the four of you if you'd like?" she asked Sasuke since he had interjected himself as the leader of the trio.

Sasuke nodded, "Sounds good. But then I think we'll get going." He said as he stepped out of her grip.

The woman nodded, "Then I'll go start up the stew again, please feel free to relax and look around." she said before moving to the kitchen.

Naruto, Sasuke and Hinata wandered after the man of the house as he lead his five new workers out the back to a large barn, showing them the area and the loft level where they were allowed to sleep while they worked for him on the farm.

"Hey Sasuke? Hinata?" Naruto asked, causing the two to look at him as the civilians disappeared into the barn, "Don't you think this was a little easy? I mean, even bandits are supposed to be a challenge for gennin aren't they?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke smirked and grunted, "As if. Not for us." he said simply.

Hinata smiled sheepishly, "Actually Naruto-nii, I got hit a couple of times and Sasuke-kun even got grazed once." Hinata said.

Sasuke glared at her as if her words were a sign of his weakness, but his scowl turned to Naruto as the blonde's green glowing hand landed on his shoulder, "You okay?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke scowled, though after a moment he sighed and shrugged, knowing that Naruto wasn't mocking him, he was just concerned... it was weird for him to be looked after again after all this time, even more so from Naruto, "I'm fine." Sasuke said as he shrugged off Naruto's hand.

Naruto nodded before stepping up to Hinata and offering her a hand. She sighed and turned to the side to show him her waist and the small bruise that was growing, letting him begin healing her.

Kakashi slowly grew up out of the ground, raising a brow as he saw the three gennin recuperating, "Oh... so how's the healing going?" he asked with an eye smile.

Naruto smiled at Kakashi, "Sasuke is done, Hinata will be soon and I'm good Sensei." Naruto explained as he finished up healing Hinata.

Kakashi nodded, "Well... I guess all is handled here then. I'll go talk to the clients one last time before we head in to town. I'll leave word about these ex-bandits and ask that they keep an eye out with their local authority." He explained.

Sasuke frowned, "So... what do we do?" he asked.

Kakashi blinked, "What do you do? Umm..." he began before turning and noticing something off to the distance, "You can go to that little noodle shop. Get some dinner, we'll be leaving once I get back. Can't be bothered camping." Kakashi said.

Naruto smiled, "Awesome! Let's go then guys!" Naruto exclaimed.

Kakashi eye smiled as Naruto dashed off, Hinata following after a moment as Sasuke followed slowly, obviously apprehensive about the idea, 'These three are doing well. I would've had to jump in back there in most situations with a trio of gennin, but Hinata's Byakugan let her keep an eye on everyone, Sasuke's Taijutsu style mixed with his Sharingan is already proving to be more advanced then I thought, and usually medic ninjas are dead weight until they're useful, but here Naruto is fighting just as well as the other two.' Kakashi thought with an eye smile, 'Maybe I'll get another C-rank once we get back.' Kakashi thought as he turned to head towards the one visible tall building down the road.

##########

"BUUUUURP!"

Sasuke and Naruto stared at Hinata in shock as the girl blushed from letting out such a large burp, "Hehe, pardon me." she said with a smile before going back to her food.

Sasuke sighed and went to go back to his food when he felt something behind them. He turned, making Naruto look away from his noodles and notice the movement.

"Who are you?" Naruto asked.

Hinata turned and her Byakugan activated under her headband again, all three of them now faced a cloaked man. They could only see his unnaturally pale lower face and the grin it held behind the all black cloak, "Oh I'm just a traveller, stopped for a meal." he said in a low and velvety voice.

Naruto shivered, 'Something is wrong with this guy...' he thought warily.

The old lady that was the owner of the noodle bar came up as she spotted the man, "Why hello sir, what can I get for you?" she asked.

The man's creepy grin widened as he raised his head, "How about..." he began as his hood shuffled backwards and he revealed his face, his fingers digging into his skin as his pupils shrank, "Some privacy!" he exclaimed.

The three gennin and the shopkeeper froze as a Genjutsu came over them, causing the man to begin chuckling as his hood fell off his face completely "My my, all here in one place. The Last Uchiha, the Free Hyuuga and the boy with the new dojutsu," he said with a creepy chuckle, "I'm so glad I found you." he said as he began forming hand seals.

Sasuke panted as he stared in fear, 'I-I-I can't deal with this! I have to end it!' he thought as he reached down to his side and pulled out a kunai.

"CURSE SEAL JUTSU!"

Two copies of the pale man stepped out from behind him, all three of their necks stretching out and biting into Sasuke's left shoulder, Naruto's right shoulder and the back of Hinata's neck.

Sasuke dropped his kunai as he gasped in pain, 'What is this?' he asked himself as he felt the teeth pierce his flesh.

"Hmhmhm, a Curse Seal of Heaven? One of the strongest seals alongside Kimimaro's Earth Seal." the first copy of the man said.

Hinata's eyes widened as she began shaking, 'Oh my god.' she thought in fear as the man pulled his teeth from her neck.

"The same is Kidomaru's, the seal of the East." the second copy of the pale man said with a chuckle as he stepped back.

Naruto gasped as he felt the foreign chakra enter his system, 'What the fuck?!' he thought as he remembered something similar to this coming up in one of the text books his mother had him studying.

"Ah, that's interesting, the Curse Seal of Hell has finally risen again. I wonder if you'll survive it." he said with a chuckle as he stepped back.

**POOF**

The three clones dispelled to show the real version of the man standing in the middle of the road, the three gennin falling off the stools to land on the floor as they faded into unconsciousness.

"My name is Orochimaru, and you three will search me out one day. To be able to find any secret, learn every secret and uncover the secret to Ninjutsu. I will need your power," the pale man said with an eerie chuckle, "But don't worry, you'll get the power you want in return," he said as he begun to sink into the ground, "Find me, I'll be waiting."

"LIGHTNING BLADE!"

Kakashi appeared in a high speed charge, his Ninjutsu cutting through the area Orochimaru had just disappeared from. He turned with wide eyes, "No!" he shouted as he ran towards the trio of gennin.

The woman behind the bar gasped as she was suddenly free of the Genjutsu, "What happened?" she asked in fear and confusion.

Kakashi slid to his knees in front of his students, Sasuke and Hinata shaking in pain while unconscious as Naruto...stood.

Kakashi stared at Naruto as red slitted pupils stared back at him, **"We need to move away from here. Leave Naruto to me." **a deep dark voice said to the Jonin before the boy walked down the road.

Kakashi stared as Naruto walked away shakily, his hands balled in fists as his legs struggled not to give out, 'What the hell...' he thought as he looked down at Hinata and Sasuke.

After a moment he quickly picked the two of them up over his shoulder before glancing up at the civilian woman, "Would you notify the family at the hen farm that we'll be retuning tonight. We'll stay with the bandits if needed but we want to make sure they aren't alarmed by our return." Kakashi said quickly before following after Naruto.

Kakashi glanced down at Naruto as he caught up to him, "Would I be right in guessing you're the Kyuubi?" Kakashi asked.

Naruto nodded, **"Yes. Sort of. I am a part of Kyuubi and I can't find the rest of me because of this new Seal. I will be handling it my way." **The dark voice said.

Kakashi glared, "...I should kill you right now, you could be breaking out for all I know." he said.

Naruto shrugged, **"You need not worry this time. If I try that Seal will mess with me in unforeseeable ways. If Naruto dies, I die too. That's what today's problem is and that's what I'm dealing with."** Kyuubi said again.

Kakashi sighed before Naruto fell to a knee, "Kyuubi?" Kakashi asked.

The boy stood again, **"Let's move quickly." **the fox said before running off the pathway and towards the bushes.

Kakashi followed for nearly two minutes before Sasuke began thrashing. Kakashi stopped at the next clearing, placing Sasuke and Hinata down as he noticed Naruto on his hands and knees in the middle of the field.

"AHHH!" Sasuke began screaming.

Kakashi knelt to analyse his seal just before Hinata began screaming in pain as well, "AHHHHH!"

Kakashi made a hand seal, "SHADOW CLONE JUTSU!" he shouted, making three clones.

One knelt to Sasuke and began to do his best to look after him as the Second Clone attended to Hinata, the other clone slowly began to approach Naruto as the boy had just collapsed to his side unconscious and shaking.

Kakashi knelt and formed hand seals, "SUMMONING JUTSU!"

##########

Hiruzen looked up as a small dog leapt in his window, 'And here I was about to pack up for the night.' Hiruzen thought as he sat back into his chair.

The dog leapt up onto the table in the corner and spat out a scroll, "Hello Hokage-sama, I got a pretty urgent message from Kakashi." he said as he knocked the scroll with his nose.

The scroll unravelled for the Hokage to read, "Thank you Pakkun..." he said as he began to read.

After a few moments of silence he stood and looked to the dark corner behind the door, "Get me Tsunade and the first available team we have." He ordered.

Pakkun watched as they shadow moved out the door, "Do you need me to take any message back to him?" Pakkun asked.

Hiruzen shook his head, "Actually I was hoping you could lead those who are joining this mission back to them in say an hour or so?" he asked.

Pakkun nodded, "Okay... do you have any snacks?" he asked with a yawn.

The Hokage nodded, "I'll have some brought in." He said with a chuckle.

##########

"He's waking, something's happening!" Kakashi's clone said.

Kakashi jogged over to it panting, having tried to seal the ones on Hinata and Sasuke though finding it impossible at this stage, "Naruto!" Kakashi said as he watched the blonde boy.

Naruto stood shakily before turning to Kakashi, his chakra pulsing out in a crimson red colour as he looked up at Kakashi, "Sensei?" he asked as Kakashi saw his face.

His entire left side was covered in small black markings in the shapes of spikes up and down his limbs. His eyes were red and now looked like a Sharingan, though he seemed nervous but otherwise fine, "How do you feel Naruto?" Kakashi asked.

Naruto blinked at him and looked down at his hands, "I feel... great!" Naruto stated with a grin.

Kakashi nodded with an eye smile as he stepped closely, though he was obviously on guard, "Okay Naruto, can you feel what's happening with that seal on your arm? Can you see it?" Kakashi asked.

Naruto nodded, "It's trying to take my chakra, but even though I can feel the pull of my chakra being taken I don't feel like I'm losing any, in fact I think it's giving me chakra." Naruto said with a slowly growing smile.

Kakashi flashed behind him at the exact moment Naruto blinked, knocking him out and making the red chakra disappear with a single large pulse, "Sorry Naruto... but I think you're right..." he mumbled as he saw Naruto's curse mark recede into a seal under his singlet, "That thing was using your demonic chakra somehow."

Kakashi turned around and sighed as he saw Hinata and Sasuke writhing still, 'Yet their marks are different... maybe the Kyuubi did manage to help Naruto somehow... I hope someone gets here soon.' he thought as he looked up at the moon, seeing it's glow bathe the clearing and make the three of them visible to him.

'Gotta say I did not see this one coming. On their first C-rank Orochimaru of all people hits them with seals like Anko's... damn.' Kakashi thought with a sigh.

##########

Naruto's brow furrowed as he rolled onto his back, raising a brow as he noticed the roof was a little... underground-y, 'Where am I?' Naruto thought as he sat up.

Jumping to his feet, Naruto frowned at the water-logged clothes he was now stuck in, 'Okay... there was that field... and the seal...' Naruto thought, trying to piece together what had lead up to this moment as he walked through the oddly bright hall... there wasn't even a source of light.

Naruto turned the corner and raised a brow as he noticed a giant cage that held the darkness in the back of the room, 'Okay... that's really odd.'

Glancing around the room, a small thing at the front of the cage got his attention. He jogged up to the cage, making him realise that he was further from it then he thought. He came to a stop and raised a brow as he saw a simple door with a triangle with spikes protruding from it's flat sides.

"**That's the Curse Seal."**

Naruto looked up as a massive pair of red eyes opened inside the cage, "Umm... alright." Naruto said.

A large grin appeared underneath the eyes, **"Do you know who I am?" **the fox asked.

Naruto nodded, "I think I do, the Nine Tailed Fox right?" he asked.

The fox chuckled, "**And yet you aren't scared."**

Naruto shrugged, "Well... to be honest I think I may be in a little bit of shock... so... why did you bring me here?" Naruto asked with a slightly nervous smile.

The fox chuckled, **"It wasn't me, it was that seal the snake smelling one put on you. It was trying to take is nature chakra, but it grasped mine first and my chakra burnt through it. So, as far as I can tell, it's kind of like a switch for you now if you learn to control it," **it said with a sigh, **"Basically, you activate it, you get a chunk of my chakra. The problem is that I broke something in it too."**

Naruto blinked, "So... it's like an access panel to some of your chakra?" he asked.

The massive Kyuubi nodded, **"I think so, and for some reason if you pass out then I can send a piece of myself to take over your body, though I could barely walk." **the fox said with a shrug, **"You should look in to this." **

Naruto nodded, "I think I will. Thanks Kyuubi...-san?" he asked before looking up curiously at the fox, "Is that how I should address you? This is new territory for me, talking to a demon I mean..." Naruto said.

The fox nodded with a laugh, **"Sure I guess. I haven't exactly had a pleasant past with most of my containers but at least you don't have me tied down." **the fox said with a chuckle.

Naruto nodded with a smile, "Cool," he said as his peripherals began to blur and his vision began to fade, "I... think I have to go Kyuubi-san." Naruto said, feeling rather woozy.

"**Hmhmhm, later kid."**

##########

Naruto's eyes slowly opened as he rolled onto his back, raising a brow at the familiar sky as he seemed to be moving along steadily. He sat up and raised a brow as most of Team Ten stepped back in shock, "Umm... sup?" he asked.

Shikamaru sighed, "You idiot..." he grumbled.

Naruto looked up in time to see his mother's angered expression, "Umm... hey Kaa-san." he said.

Tsunade's brow twitched as Naruto grinned at her, though they were interrupted as Sasuke suddenly sat up from his sleep and threw Hinata and Naruto away from him.

The unconscious Hinata was caught by Asuma and Naruto was grabbed out of the air by Tsunade, pulled into her comforting embrace as Sasuke's dark chakra pulsed around him.

Sasuke's Sharingan eyes glared around the group until they settled on Naruto, "Naruto..." he said darkly as he turned to face the blonde and his mother.

Sasuke's chakra suddenly stopped as Kakashi knocked him out from behind the Jonin then turned to look at Hinata as his Sharingan glowed, "Her too! Quickly!" He exclaimed.

Asuma looked down as Hinata began to glow with the same dark chakra as Sasuke but before she lashed out Shikamaru's shadow wrapped her limbs tightly, "Sensei!" Shikamaru exclaimed.

Asuma sighed and knocked her out as Choji stepped back from protecting Ino, "What the heck just happened? Is Sasuke okay?" she asked.

Naruto sighed as everyone looked at him for an explanation while he just grinned, "Yeah he'll be fine," Naruto said before looking at Tsunade, "Hey Kaa-san, can Sasuke stay over ours tonight?" he asked as he noticed that Choji had been the one pushing the cart with the three of them on it.

Tsunade glared at him for a moment before sighing, "Fine. When we get back we'll stick to the same plan but you can help me watch them overnight Kakashi. Shizune will take first watch and you'll report to Sarutobi-sensei Asuma. We clear?" she asked.

The group nodded as Kakashi knelt and unrolled a scroll while forming a Ram Seal, sealing the cart inside the scroll.

Naruto raised a hand, "So, what about those two?" he asked his mother.

Tsunade nodded, "Kakashi, you carry Sasuke, I'll carry Hinata and we all rush back to the village now. If we really push it it'll be an hour tops from here." Tsunade said as she approached Hinata.

Asuma helped Tsunade put Hinata on her back as Naruto helped Kakashi with Sasuke. Ino, Choji and Shikamaru took an arrowhead formation with team seven's transport between them while Asuma followed the rear.

Together, they moved into the darkness towards the village.

##########

Chapter End.

Hey guys, basically the only question I'm being asked lately is whether or not this is a NaruxHina or SasuxHina or NaruxSasu story so I'm going to answer that now:

If I answer that completely it'll give away major Plot Points in the story so all I'm gonna say is that this definitely NOT a NaruxSasu story (I've got nothing against it myself but I don't know how to write guy love and I don't plan on attempting any stories with that genre just yet... maybe later), and as for the SasuxHina idea, it will be heading that way for a little while (key words there are a _little while_) though it may resume later, NaruxHina probably not, but it's not impossible.

I'm trying to establish a schedule to follow for writing my stories, this was story update number one on my new schedule:)

p.s. I've been on holidays for a while so sorry if it takes me a while to get back into the swing of things, but let's hope it's sooner rather then later.

Anyways please R&amp;R, the feedback is really appreciated :) Alky out.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven: Adapting and a new Sensei

"So... we're gonna start every day like this?" Naruto asked with a frown from his place sitting on the floor of his main room.

The Hokage shook his head as he stood behind Naruto to analyse the Hell Seal, "The other two yes, but you... not so much." he said as he concentrated with his palm over the seal.

Naruto clenched his teeth as a slight pain came from the seal and he had to focus for a moment to 'close the door' to the fox's chakra, "Still the same." Naruto said.

Hiruzen nodded and took his hand away before gesturing for Naruto to stand up, "Well Naruto, the best I can tell is that the seal on your body tried to integrate the new seal and in doing so kind of broke it. While the workings of the seal look to take in Sage Chakra, it's instead found your prisoner to be a better and more immediate chakra source that burned out the only component of these seals that we truly don't understand." He explained.

Naruto pulled on his shirt before looking up at the Hokage, "That means we can't get rid of it right? Shouldn't we like, seal it or something with another barrier?" he asked.

The Hokage shook his head, "That would be like adding a spare brick in a wall just because it's leftover. The Seal with the Fox is already guarding and protecting you Naruto. In fact, I'd venture to say this might be a good thing for you and discovering to control your red chakra." the Hokage explained.

Naruto nodded slowly before sighing, "If you say so Jiji... but what about Hinata and Sasuke?" Naruto asked.

Hiruzen sighed, "Well, your mother will tell us the moment we get to them about Hinata's seal and Kakashi is overlooking Sasuke's. As far as I can tell we should be able to check on them by now." Hiruzen said.

Naruto nodded as he stood, "Hinata is out with Kaa-san, but where did Sensei take Sasuke?" Naruto asked.

##########

"AHHHH!" Sasuke shouted as Kakashi's seal sucked in towards him.

Kakashi frowned from behind Sasuke, having used the Senju's training room to apply the seal he had crafted over Sasuke's own, 'There we go, now Sasuke should be able to control the seal as long as he has the will to do so.' he thought with a deep breath as the last of his seal flowed up Sasuke's back and began to glow.

Sasuke shouted once more before passing out, making Kakashi sigh, 'Well that's my job done.' He thought with a nod to himself before sitting down behind Sasuke and checking his pulse, only for the gennin to fall on his side unconscious, 'Hm... I'm sure he'll be fine.' Kakashi thought as he glanced at the clock.

##########

"This seal isn't that bad... I wonder why no one has been able to break it yet..." Tsunade mumbled as her green glowing hand held the back of Hinata's neck, though after a moment she nodded in realisation, "Oh, that's why..." she mumbled with a frown before pulling her hands away.

Tsunade looked down at the sleeping Hinata, the girl laying across Tsunade's coffee table as Tsunade cracked her knuckles, 'I think I know something that'll deal with this.' she thought as she began to form hand seals.

After nearly a minute of seals, Tsunade clapped her hands before a sealing array shot out around her before seemingly 'latching' on to Hinata's Curse seal, "Here we go." Tsunade mumbled as she placed one hand over the other and moved them over Hinata's seal.

Hinata's eyes snapped open as she gasped, Tsunade's seal having completely moved up her back to form two long lines alongside her spine that met in a curve above the Curse Seal, "Ts-tsunade-sama?" she asked groggily.

Tsunade smiled as she sat on the couch casually, "Hey Hinata, how you feeling?" she asked.

Hinata 'looked' up before taking off her headband, wanting to see with her normal eyes, "I'm fine... what happened?" she asked with a frown.

Tsunade chuckled, "Oh not much. Though apparently the three of you now have Curse Seals from Orochimaru." she said as she grabbed a bottle of water and began to sip from it.

Hinata blinked in shock before jolting into a sitting position, "WHY ME?!" she shouted with tears in her eyes.

Tsunade hugged the girl with a chuckle, "You're all right Hinata, I sealed it in a way that you have full control over it's activation. So if you want you can learn to use it, or learn to ignore it." she informed her.

Hinata nodded slightly, "So... it's not like the Caged Bird Seal?" Hinata asked.

Tsunade's eyes widened in sudden understanding, 'Oh right, she associates all Seals with that thing...' she thought to herself before shaking her head, "No Hinata, it's nothing like that... I mean, we at least understand the Caged Bird Seal, this one is a little different..." she said, thinking her words would help.

Tsunade glanced at Hinata since the girl was being so quiet, though she blinked in shock as she saw even more tears on Hinata's face, "So I have some ugly mark that we don't even understand?" she asked, on the verge of crying more.

Tsunade sighed as she comforted Hinata, 'Geez... are her emotions getting amplified or something? She was never this worried before, even throughout the whole Hyuuga thing.'

#########

Naruto, Sasuke and Hinata sat awkwardly around the table as Tsubaki placed their food in front of them, "I hope you enjoy your meal." she said with a bow to the three of them before bowing to the three adults at the other end of the table and leaving.

Their silence was palpable for a moment before Sasuke reached for his chopsticks, "So... either of you remember what happened?" he asked.

Naruto shrugged, "Some guy named Orochimaru?" Naruto mumbled.

Hinata and Sasuke nodded in unison with him before they went back to the awkward silence. Though after a few moments, Hinata sighed heavily, "So do we use them or not?" she asked.

"Yes." Sasuke said surely.

"No." Naruto said at the same time.

Hinata glanced between Naruto and Sasuke, the Uchiha glaring at Naruto as he began to speak, "This seal gives power right? We should use it and grow strong enough to defeat everyone who opposes us." Sasuke said surely.

Naruto sighed, "Use power from something we don't even understand? That's like channelling your chakra into a seal before knowing how it works." Naruto said.

Sasuke shrugged, "Meaning we could discover a power akin to the Fourth Hokage's Teleportation jutsu." Sasuke argued.

"Or we could explode like an Explosive Seal," Naruto countered, "It could kill us by overusing it Sasuke."

Sasuke shook his head, "We've all already used it once according to Kakashi-sensei. I don't feel any different, do you?" he asked the two of them.

Naruto frowned for a moment before shaking his head, "No... all I feel that's different is where the guy bit me." Naruto complained as he ran his hand over the spot the teeth sank in near the Seal.

Hinata raised her hand, "I feel a little different..." she mumbled.

Naruto smiled, "You don't need to raise your hand..." he said with a chuckle.

Sasuke stayed on point, "What's different? Is it physical? Do you feel stronger?" he asked urgently.

Naruto's eyes narrowed, 'Even though he says he doesn't feel different, he's acting... off. Like this little offer of power has really gone to his head.' Naruto thought as Hinata blinked at Sasuke's multitude of questions.

"Umm... I just feel a little... moody." Hinata said softly.

Sasuke scoffed, "You're always moody." he said.

Naruto glared slightly at the boy as Hinata looked down sadly, "Well, I'm not going to use it. Not until we know a little more about it." Naruto said.

Sasuke shrugged, "I will master this seal. Using the more practical method of learning." he said with a slightly malicious smirk.

The two boys looked at Hinata, wanting her to choose a side while she just played with her food, "Umm... I guess..." she glanced between the two of them before sighing, "The Seal Tsunade-sama gave me let's me control it's activation so... I want to learn how to use it." she said as before hiding her face in her food.

Naruto sighed as Sasuke smirked, "Good." Sasuke said.

"Then it's settled."

The trio looked over at Tsunade as she smirked at them, "Starting tomorrow morning you will have another two join you for training purposes. One who knows seals, and one who knows this seal's effects first hand." She said.

Sasuke raised a brow as Hinata lifted her face from the food.

"First hand?" Naruto asked curiously.

##########

"RUN MAGGOTS!"

""AAAAHHHH!"" Hinata and Naruto shouted in fear while Sasuke just focussed on running, the three of them barely jumping out of the shrubbery when a massive snake suddenly burst out after them.

"What the hell is wrong with this lady?!" Naruto shouted.

Hinata used her enhanced vision to look behind them at the determined and glee filled grin on their new part-time sensei's face, 'Anko-sensei wouldn't really kill us would she?' Hinata thought as the three began to run away into the bushes surrounding the village again.

Kakashi glanced up from his book as he saw Anko chance his three students through the clearing again, "She's having more fun with this then I thought she would." He mentioned to the person on the ground next to him.

Jiraiya looked up at Kakashi and nodded before looking back down at the three scrolls which held all his notes on the seals that he could find, "Yeah, well it keeps them fit and helps her lower her barriers a little. Soon I bet she'll be worrying over them like a parent figure, especially since they got these seals like her." Jiraiya said before yawning.

Kakashi glanced to the side of the clearing as he noticed a taller tree fall over in the distance, "Still... do you think their separation is really for the best?" Kakashi asked.

Jiraiya shrugged, "Honestly, I have no idea. But either way they won't be separated too much. They will each have their mornings for individual practises, then they'll do a mission together before entering our different training plans..." Jiraiya said before blinking and looking up, "Umm, did you grab the plans?" he asked.

Kakashi blinked and shook his head, "I thought someone else would have done that..." he mumbled before going back to his book.

Jiraiya sighed, "Kakashi, get to it. I'm checking the seals, Anko is checking the kids and you were supposed to be getting the plans." Jiraiya said.

Kakashi nodded and sighed, "Well... I guess I'll have enough time to go do that now considering her fun." Kakashi said as he turned and began to walk away.

Jiraiya chuckled before looking up at the gennin that had split up, all three of them now being chased by snakes just as big as the first one while Anko flipped off of the lead snake to land next to him, "So old man, what's the plan?" she asked Jiraiya with a grin.

Jiraiya grinned pervertedly at her, "You and I can make any plans you want Anko." he said with a wink.

Anko frowned slightly as she looked the Sannin up and down. He was beginning to feel nervous for a while before she smirked, "Well my plan is to have them do a random summoning, it's always the most fun getting a Summoning contract that's up outta no where." she said.

Jiraiya blinked before frowning, "I... think that's a pretty terrible idea. A lot of ninjas get deadly creatures since that's what they're aligned towards and barely any of them will even get a words in before they're eaten or killed." Jiraiya said.

Anko shrugged, "Nah, these guys can run pretty fast. I mean look at em go!" she said with a laugh as Hinata and Sasuke ran past.

Jiraiya frowned as he pointedly noticed that Naruto wasn't chased past. He glanced around before raising a brow at what he saw behind Anko, "Huh... maybe they won't all need to run." Jiraiya said with a smirk.

Anko turned and her eyes widened as she saw Naruto holding the massive snake's mouth shut with his herculean strength, his feet dug into the ground as he tried his best to stare at the flailing snake's eyes, "He's gonna get eaten if he's not...careful..." she mumbled as a frown came over her face.

The snake stopped it's flailing as it looked cross-eyed at Naruto, the blonde smiling as his Uzugan swirled hypnotically, "You're okay... no need to get angry or upset..." Naruto shushed softly as he began to pat it's nose, "There you go, helloooo snakey." Naruto said with a smile.

Anko watched on incredulously as her snake began to wag it's tail like a dog, "Did he just tame Aoda? I haven't tamed Aoda!" She exclaimed.

Jiraiya openly laughed before patting her on the back, "Haha! Well maybe you're right about that Summoning Contract idea, let's have them Soul Summon." Jiraiya said with a grin.

##########

**POOF**

The trio of Team 7 looked up as Kakashi appeared in a plume of smoke with a bag in hand, "Hello everyone." he said with an eye smile.

The three gennin sat up as Anko grinned at Kakashi, "Ah good, how'd it go Scarecrow?" she asked.

Kakashi sighed and shrugged, "Alright I guess. I have food from Shizune and Tsubaki," he said as he put the bag down and took a scroll from the top of it, "And the plans the Hokage has set for the team." he said as he held the scroll out.

"Gimme!" Anko said as she snatched the scroll from his hands and unravelled it, "Okay so... what? I don't get them until the afternoon?" she asked with a frown.

Jiraiya took it from her, boredom clearly written on his face as he read the scroll, "Alright, after everyone does the day's mission Kakashi and Anko will be alternating with Naruto, Sasuke and Hinata for checking up on them and their seals... awesome, I only have to come down on weekends." Jiraiya mumbled to himself with a grin.

Naruto frowned, "Hey Pervy Sage, you're supposed to be enthusiastic about teaching us some stuff." Naruto complained.

Jiraiya shrugged, "I'm _supposed _to be at the Hot Springs right now kid," he said before yawning, "You should be grateful."

Sasuke scoffed, "Grateful?... I just want to get stronger." he said as he clenched his fists.

"We will be stronger," Hinata said with a smile from between her team mates, "I can feel it already!" She exclaimed.

Sasuke couldn't help but smirk at her positivity while Naruto openly laughed, "Yeah! We're ready for our next C-rank for sure!" Naruto exclaimed.

Kakashi blinked at them as he ignored Anko's background shouting, "A C-rank? No no that's not going to happen for a while." he said.

Naruto frowned, "Two days?"

"...No."

Sasuke raised a brow, "Five days?"

Kakashi shook his head, "No, probably not."

"A Week?" Hinata asked.

Kakashi sighed, "Alright fine, maybe in a week, though probably not." Kakashi mumbled.

Anko snatched Kakashi's book from him, "Oi! I wanna take em on a mission, when can I do one?" she asked.

Kakashi opened his book – making Anko and the others look at her now empty hand in confusion – shrugging as he glanced over at Jiraiya, "I don't know... later I guess." he said with a sigh.

Jiraiya stood as he rolled up his three scrolls, "Well I'm done for today. Maybe you can try to convince Kakashi to teach them the Summoning Jutsu." Jiraiya said with a chuckle as he began to walk away.

Kakashi raised a brow, "Summons?" he asked.

Anko grinned as the gennin continued talking amongst themselves, "Yeah, I wanna make them do the Soul Summoning without a contract!" she exclaimed.

Kakashi's eye turned to Anko's in thought, 'That's how Orochimaru found her... the moment she used the Soul Summoning and came up aside his Snake Contract he sunk his fangs into her... I hope she's not trying to do the same with these three.' Kakashi thought with a sigh.

"Well how about it?" Anko said, gaining Kakashi's attention as he glanced over to see her talking to the gennin,"Wanna bond with a Summoning Contract?" she asked.

"Yeah!" Naruto grinned, "I read about this when mom wanted me to sign the Slug Contract, but Katsuya-sama's family isn't really fond of me anyway." he said as he remembered the time he had managed to prank all of the slugs... it put him in a sticky situation.

Sasuke shrugged, "I already am bonded to the Uchiha Clan's summon partners, but I don't have a personal summons," he said before glancing at Anko, "Will that make a difference?" he asked.

Anko shook her head, "Nope."

"What about if I used to have a family summons? Cause I don't know if I still have access to it..." Hinata said with a slight pout.

Anko shook her head, "Nope, left hand is family summons, right hand is personal." She said with a grin.

"Do you have two?" Naruto asked.

Anko shook her head, "Nah, but Kakashi does!" She said as she turned and pointed at him.

Kakashi sighed as three gazes were suddenly staring at him intently, "So... who wants to use learning the Summoning Jutsu as a test for your Curse Seal training?" he asked, finding the easiest option for him, 'Kids trained by Anko with the Seal and then she can even take half the work load again with her snake contract. Easy win.' Kakashi thought to himself with an eye smile.

'Only one week of this stuff until the next C-rank... seems fair.'

##########

_Four Days Later_

##########

"_MONSTER!"_

"_DAMN DEMON, JUST DIE!"_

**BEEP BEEP BE-**

**SMASH**

Naruto's eyes snapped open before he glanced to the side, sighing as he realised he had smashed another clock, 'I had these nightmares before the Curse Seal sometimes... but now it's every night.' he thought with a sigh before sitting up as he rubbed his tired eyes.

**Knock Knock**

Naruto smiled and cleared his throat, "Come in." he said as he shuffled back on the bed.

Tsubaki stepped into the room with a large tray, "Good morning Naruto-kun." she said as she came over to the bed and placed the food tray over his legs.

Naruto grinned at the assortment of small breakfast combinations; Eggs, bacon, beans, sausages, veggies... life was good, "Good morning Tsubaki!" Naruto said with a grin.

Tsubaki smiled at his bright attitude before walking over to his window, opening the blinds for him before she moved to his wardrobe, "Hinata went out and bought an alarm clock for you this morning before she left with Shizune-sama for training, you're still heading to the hospital this morning correct?" she asked him.

Naruto nodded as he ate, "Yeah I am," he said as he glanced at the small alarm clock with a little bow stuck on it, "Thanks Tsubaki..." he mumbled as he smiled happily at the alarm clock.

Naruto went back to eating while Tsubaki laid out Naruto's daily outfit for him, though instead of his Senju Clan jacket, she laid out a white doctor's cloak instead, "Your clothes are ready for the day. Tsunade-sama shall be ready to leave in half an hour." she said with a bow, "Anything else?"

Naruto shook his head, "Nah this is great as always Tsubaki," he said cheerily, "See ya later." he dismissed.

Tsubaki nodded before leaving the room, letting Naruto eat his food and look out his window at the same view his balcony had, "Good morning Konoha." he said as he lifted up a glass of milk and began to drink.

Twenty minutes later, Naruto finished eating and getting ready, closing the balcony door behind him as he leapt over the rail, landing with a crouch as the training room's Garage door opened up slowly, as it got to halfway, Naruto grinned, "How's it goin?" he asked.

Two Naruto clones looked up with matching smiles, ""Finished!"" they exclaimed in unison before dispelling.

Naruto closed his eyes for a moment to sift through the memories, 'Medical Style: Outer Layer Skinning and Fire Style: Flame sword, finally.' he thought as he began to form hand seals.

Naruto hissed as he ran his glowing left hand along the back of his hand gently, causing his skin to literally peel off from the muscle, "Owwwww," he said before quickly beginning to heal himself. After a few moments he was fine, though he scowled at the back of his hand, 'Note to self, only use it on enemies or in emergencies.' he thought before pulling out a simple kunai.

Naruto clicked a button inside the training garage and let the doors begin to close, giving him just enough time to walk out as he held up the kunai in his right hand, "Okay..." he mumbled to himself before closing his eyes.

After focussing his chakra, his Uzugan eyes snapped and he clapped his hands into a Tiger Seal around the kunai, "FLAME SWORD!" Naruto exclaimed as he pulled his hands apart.

His kunai was suddenly wrapped in flame that he could swing around. It lasted about five seconds before the flames shrank and left Naruto with nothing but a handle, "Awesome." He said to himself with a smirk as he drop kicked the handle back up onto his balcony.

"You have to clean that up properly later."

Naruto turned with a grin as Tsunade stepped out the front door in her medical outfit, "Kaa-san!" Naruto said happily.

Tsunade smiled as Naruto came up and hugged her, once again disappearing under her ample bust, "Morning Naruto-chan, ready for another day?" she asked.

Naruto sighed but nodded, taking Tsunade's bag for her as they continued to walk along towards work and the first third of Naruto's training regime;

Working as a Doctor for civilian patients from 0830 hours till 1130 hours. Just in time for a half hour lunch break before meeting up with his team's Sensei.

Naruto yawned before smiling slightly, 'And I get paid for an ongoing C-rank. Maybe being a medic isn't so bad...'

##########

"...and that's why I know where the Tenketsu are placed in the body." Shizune said as she tapped the board next to her to point at the last sheet holding a picture of the human body with three hundred and sixty one blue dots on it.

Hinata nodded before looking down at her notes. She finished her sentence before placing her things down on the table in front of her, "But if the Byakugan can see them... how come I can't?" she asked in confusion.

Shizune smiled, "As far as Tsunade-sama taught me, it'll develop on it's own eventually and the only correlation between times of learning the skill is the more someone uses their Byakugan, the quicker it develops." she explained.

Hinata nodded, "So... the other day I thought that maybe my range had grown slightly, is that actually capable of happening?" she asked.

Shizune nodded, "Yeah, that doesn't really surprise me. Next I think should be precision, you'll be able to see the things in your vision with more clarity then even the normal human eye..." she said with an encouraging grin, 'Though it'll take at least a year of focussing it to make too much progress.' she thought.

Hinata looked up at Shizune with a raised hand, "But I have my Byakugan active all the time while other clansmen hold it for maybe half an hour at most, won't that make a difference?" she asked.

Shizune nodded, "It should make a difference, but I guess we'll only find out with time."

"So," Hinata began as she tilted her head curiously, "What will we be training in now that the theory is over? Cause I can't see a way to train my Byakugan to evolve..." Hinata mumbled.

Shizune smirked, "Firstly, we're going to do a little training in another close up Taijutsu style that I was taught from my uncle and mother, it's a little odd, but parts of it are similar to your Gentle Fist." Shizune explained.

Hinata nodded as she stood, clearly excited to learn a new style, "Cool, so what's it called sensei?" she asked with a smile.

Shizune smiled and took a stance with her feet turned slightly inwards and her arms offered up lightly in a perfectly held but relaxed position, "It's called Wing Chun." Shizune said as she nodded to Hinata, "Now come at me, I'll show you how it works."

Hinata nodded and took a Gentle Fist stance before moving forward, though the moment she got close, Shizune's hands made small movements to parry her blows before Shizune stepped into Hinata's guard and pushed her back with a thumb to her forehead and belly button.

Hinata slid back as if the thumbs were full tilt punches, just without the painful impact, 'This is kinda familiar... like the Tai Chi aspects of our Gentle Fist or something...' Hinata thought curiously before a grin came over her face, 'And soon I'll be able to use it myself!' she thought excitedly before charging forward.

##########

In the middle of Team 7's training ground, Sasuke's Sharingan swirled as he stood with his hands in an open fire, the flames seemingly morphing around his hands in an uncomfortably hot but non-threatening blaze.

Kakashi glanced down at his stop watch from his place sitting against one of the training posts, 'He seems to be able to hold this level of control for as long as he has chakra. If his natural element isn't fire then it's definitely is his secondary.' Kakashi thought before clicking the button.

Hearing the click, Sasuke slowly took his hand from the fire to show that though they were a little red, there was no burn thanks to the fire chakra wrapped around his hands, "Will you teach me the Ninjutsu now?" Sasuke asked stubbornly.

Kakashi sighed and reached to the scroll sitting on the ground by his side, tossing it up into the air, "The Fire Style: Hiding in Flames Technique. Basically a flaming substitution that can be used for basic defence and evasion as well." Kakashi explained.

Sasuke nodded as he caught and unravelled the scroll across the ground in front of him, "Alright then... how long do I have?" Sasuke asked.

Kakashi reached into his pouch and pulled out a normal pocket watch and his favourite book, "You have... four hours. I reckon you could get it done by today. After all, your brother learnt it mid-combat after reading the scroll on the run to the target location... you're as good as him right?" Kakashi challenged.

Sasuke's hair seemed to stand on end before he dropped to his knees with the scroll and began analysing it like there was not tomorrow unless he finished ASAP.

Kakashi chuckled before looking down at his book, 'Easy, now I'll only need to work if he needs help.' Kakashi said as he began to read.

Unseen by Kakashi, Sasuke's Curse Mark began to pulse as he read the scroll, 'I need to learn this today, I will not let him leave me behind!' Sasuke thought in determination.

##########

"Just make sure he has one tablet a day before dinner and he should be fine. Come back to me in a week if the sickness persists."

The man nodded before looking at his sleeping toddler, "Thank you very much Dr. Senju," he said as he received the prescription from Naruto, "I was also wondering if you could look at a burn of mine I got at work?" he asked as he put the sheet of paper aside.

Naruto nodded and slid out from his desk, "No worries, little Kimi here will be asleep for about another ten minutes maximum, hop up and I'll take a look."

The man nodded and sat on the patient's table, lifting his shirt to show his bandaged stomach, "Ah." the man whispered as he tried to hide the pain in the movement.

Naruto frowned as he cut the bandage away with a single finger, seeing the burnt skin underneath, "Sir, with burns like this you need to come get medical attention immediately. If I were a standard doctor I'd be stuck leaving you in the hands of some Antibiotics for the infection," Naruto said before looking up at the man, "Or considering I'm a medical ninja, I can remove all the burnt flesh and get it to a point where it'll be healed after just some skin regrowth rather then the whole burn scar." Naruto explained.

The man sighed, "I don't have enough money for surgeries Dr. Senju, but if antibiotics could help-"

"What's that? Your insurance covers it?" Naruto interjected.

The man shook his head sadly, "No, I can only afford the village's General Insurance, that surgery would cost us thous-"

"It does cover you? That's great," Naruto said with a smirk as he placed a green glowing hand on the man's forehead, causing him to fall asleep after a few moments so that Naruto could lie him down on the patient bed, "Trying to help but he just doesn't get it..." Naruto mumbled as he formed the same hand seals from the morning.

"NINJA ART: MEDIC STYLE: OUTER LAYER SKINNING!"

Naruto used one hand to carve off the dead and scarred flesh, his other hand following behind to promote healing from the second he removed it. After nearly five minutes, Naruto pulled his hands away from the man and nodded, 'Once they wake up they should be good to go.' Naruto thought as he moved over to his desk, snapping off his plastic gloves on the way.

"SHADOW CLONE JUTSU!"

Two clones popped into existence as Naruto grabbed a few forms and filled them in for 'Minor' burn analysis and a prescription for skin ointment, 'Treated, please return if any issues arise. General Insurance covers for the Child's sickness and the minor burns situated on his chest.' Naruto wrote for the legal records, smirking to himself as he felt a rush of pride in himself for being able to help someone beyond their expectations.

Naruto stood and placed the forms in the copier as the toddler began to stir. Naruto smiled and moved over to her as he picked her up, "Good morning sleepy head." Naruto said as he carried the girl around the small room for a moment before sitting back down at his desk.

Little Kimi began to play with and pull Naruto's hair as he got back to his paperwork, finishing up an earlier report before grabbing his sign out card and ID card. Naruto shut down his computer before standing, "Wanna help wake up Dad?" Naruto asked, earning a chuckled and nod from the toddler.

Naruto looked over to see his clones had successfully wrapped the sleeping man's wounds in new fresh bandages as well as laid out three clean bandages for him to take with him. Naruto put the toddler next to her father's head on the bed and tapped the back of his patient's hand with his medical chakra.

The man woke up with a jolt as if he was shocked slightly, he saw Kimi and seemed confused for a moment before sitting up with a surprising amount of ease, he looked down to see the new bandages, "It doesn't hurt any more..." he mumbled before looking at Naruto, "How did you do that without surgery?" he asked.

Naruto smirked, "Benefits of studying under one of the best medics in the world; I know a few little tricks." Naruto said with a smile as he offered the man a yellow folder with all their papers in it, "I've added a prescription for burn ointment for you. And since this was a minor, non-invasive task, it's all covered." Naruto explained.

The man looked in the envelope then at the bandages in amazement before picking them up along with his daughter, "Thanks so much Dr. Senju, you've done us a major kindness!" he exclaimed happily.

Naruto smiled and opened the door for them, "Any time, I'm glad to help." Naruto said as he showed them out.

Closing the door behind them, Naruto grabbed his small medic belt and ninja pouch as he put them on, clipping his ID tag onto his cloak before he walked out of the room, 'Service is done, now to sign out and off to lunch!' Naruto thought as he went to do just that.

##########

Hinata walked through the streets with a large bag on her back that seemed far to big and oddly shaped for her to carry, 'Maybe I should've waited until Nii-san could help me,' she thought as she pictured Naruto carrying the massive bag over his shoulder like it was no big deal, 'I saw them at dinner last night and I already miss them.' she thought as her new family flashed through her mind.

Tsunade and Shizune had really taken a shine to Hinata. She was the epitome well manners and kindness, and by the looks of things, they really enjoyed having a younger woman in the house. Even better, a distraction for Naruto so that they could rest. They loved him sure, but when Naruto gets excited, it takes at least some late night training and spars just to get him to calm down.

Hinata raised her head as she noticed Naruto walking down an adjoining road, looking tired as he openly yawned before he was distracted by a young family. Hinata watched curiously as they apparently thanked Naruto, the apparent mother standing with a pair of crutches and her husband's help while their child was pulling Naruto's jacket for attention. The father went back inside and returned a few moments later with a basket of fresh fruit for Naruto. He thanked them and said his goodbyes before picking up the child and throwing him nearly five meters into the air before catching the laughing boy who was cheering to his father.

Hinata smiled at the exchange before lifting her large bag up higher on her back and increasing her pace to catch to him. When they began to approach the same intersection, Naruto looked up as if in realisation and glanced in her direction before he formed a single handed Ram seal.

Hinata stepped back as Naruto appeared in front of her in a shunshin, "Hey Hina!" Naruto exclaimed with a grin before seeing what she was burdened with.

Hinata smiled at Naruto, "Hi Nii-san, are you finished work?" she asked.

Naruto smiled and nodded, "Yeah, just heading for Ichiraku's, wanna join?" he asked.

Hinata nodded, "Sounds great, would you mind helping me with this?" she asked him sheepishly.

Naruto nodded, "Sure thing, but only if you carry this is return." he said with a grin, offering her the basket of fresh fruit.

Hinata smiled in thanks, "Okay." she said as they swapped packs and continued walking.

After a few minutes, Hinata turned ahead, "Nii-san, can you see that?" she asked.

Naruto looked ahead and lifted the bag onto his shoulder as if it was light as a pebble, "Yeah, what's with the crowd?" he asked.

Hinata used her eyes to see through the group of rampart teenage girls, sighing as she saw the source, "It's a fangirl attack, Sasuke's there already." she reported as they marched ahead.

Naruto's face paled, "You... you don't think Ichiraku's is full do you?" he asked as if not getting ramen meant the end of the world.

Hinata couldn't help but chuckle at him, "I can see an empty seat on either side of Sasuke, maybe he reserved them for us?" she asked Naruto with a slight blush.

Naruto raised a brow as he noticed her blush, "Really Hina? That's awesome!" Naruto said as he began to move quicker.

When they got to the group, Naruto just held the obscenely large bag in front of him and began to push through the crowd, making most of them step out of his way and subsequently Hinata's within a few moments.

"Hi Sasuke." Hinata said with a smile as Naruto set the bag down against the wall.

Sasuke glanced up at them and nodded to them before gesturing to the empty chairs, making Naruto and Hinata notice that he was slightly wet as if he had been for a swim and then let himself drip-dry.

"So... why are you wet?" Naruto asked curiously as they took their seats.

Sasuke sighed and waved Ayame over, signalling that they were ready to order, "Hi guys!" Ayame exclaimed, "What'll it be?" she asked.

Sasuke spoke quickly, "A Chicken Ramen thanks, Miso for Hinata and a double up of Pork Ramen for Naruto." He ordered.

Ayame nodded, "Okay, I'll be back soon." she said as she walked back to the other customers and her father.

Naruto raised a brow as he noticed Sasuke already had the money out, "You're paying? What's the occasion?" he asked with a grin.

Sasuke smirked as he glanced between his team-mates, "Two reasons. The first being that Kakashi gave me this money and told me to celebrate with you before training this afternoon. The second... being that today Anko, Jiraiya and Kakashi will be available. You know what that means." Sasuke said with what could almost be considered a smile.

Hinata sat a little taller in excitement, "We get to activate our seals! Maybe we'll finally be able to make enough chakra for our first Soul Summoning!" she exclaimed.

Naruto smiled slightly, though it didn't reach his worried eyes, "Right... do you guys really want to go through with this?" He asked.

Hinata and Sasuke both nodded, Sasuke glaring at Naruto challengingly as Hinata smiled, "It'll be fun." she said.

Sasuke leaned forward into his normal brooding pose, before glancing at the empty glasses and the tall jug of water. He reached over and looked at Hinata before pouring her's first.

Hinata smiled slightly at the obvious show of attention, making Naruto smirk and roll his eyes as Sasuke finished filling his own before placing the jug down, "Yeah sure, I'd love some water Sasuke." Naruto said jokingly as he reached for the jug himself.

Sasuke's emotionless face stayed still, though his face nearly tinted pink, a fact that Hinata couldn't see with her Byakugan's black and white view of everything that wasn't chakra, "I hope I get something strong." she said, "Do the Lion's have a summoning contract?" she asked her team-mates.

Naruto shrugged, "Dunno," he said honestly, "I just hope I don't go to something that'll kill me." Naruto said with a slightly nervous chuckle.

Sasuke frowned at that before shaking his head in thought, 'No matter, I'll be able to handle whatever comes at me.' he thought confidently.

"So how come you're wet?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke frowned, "My new jutsu. It took a few tries and left a large amount of... soot and ash on me. I washed it off it off." he said.

Hinata laughed, "By doing what? Jumping in the river?" she asked jokingly.

"..."

"...Seriously? You know fish screw in that right?" Naruto asked him.

"Nii-san!" Hinata shouted with a blush and a frown at his words.

##########

**FLASH**

The entire training grounds lit up in a blue glow as Jiraiya walked back into view from the trees, "The barrier is set up. Time for you kids to do it." Jiraiya said with an expectant grin.

Kakashi – for once not reading his book or even having it in view – eye smiled at his trio of gennin, "Remember, you can forfeit their challenges if you need to. But to do so in a situation where it's not life and death is extremely disrespectful, so... yeah, just be careful got it?" Kakashi said.

Anko looked at the three in worry as they nodded to Kakashi, 'Maybe this isn't such a good idea... I know with Hokage-sama's plans them learning to control these seals is the best path, and I guess if they manage to learn more about it by risking their lives, I'll be able to learn more about mine without the risk.' She thought selfishly.

But hey, what ever suggested she gave a shit about them over herself?

"Umm, how do we activate it?"

The group turned to Hinata in unison as she asked the question, "I... thought you'd know?" Jiraiya asked.

Naruto and Sasuke nodded, "I can feel it. I can activate it." Sasuke said confidently.

Naruto smiled, "My protection seal is the key to activating my one. So... what's Hinata's?" Naruto asked.

Jiraiya sighed, "Alright let me see the seal." he said, having hoped this was already taken care of. Hinata turned her back to Jiraiya as he peaked down the back of her shirt, "I remember this one, alright, Hinata's may take a while to activate but the moment you do, it should be as easy as breathing to activate it." he said.

"And deactivating it?" she asked.

Jiraiya tilted his head, "Well... depending on your pain tolerance. This won't be a difficult procedure for you but unfortunately up until it's fully retreated back into the seal, the entire deactivation process will be painful." Jiraiya explained.

Hinata nodded as Naruto and Sasuke listened in, "So how can we help Hinata?" Naruto asked.

Jiraiya shrugged, "You two continue your work. I'll help Hinata find her trigger." he said as he placed a hand on the pouting Hinata's shoulder.

Sasuke nodded while Naruto frowned, "Okay... do we have the option of trying the Summoning again without the Curse Seal?" Naruto asked.

Kakashi nodded immediately, "If you don't want to use it you don't have to, but remember we can only try this again when Jiraiya-sama can join us." Kakashi said.

Naruto nodded and walked closer to Kakashi as Anko approached Sasuke, "That's okay Sensei, I think I've got it now." Naruto said with a smirk, 'I worked out my problem two days ago, I just know that if I get it first then Hinata might feel she's being left behind and Sasuke might start hating on me even more then he implies.' Naruto thought.

Anko nodded to Sasuke, "Since you and I have the same seal I'm guessing yours is an emotional trigger like mine right?" she asked.

Sasuke smirked and nodded, "Hn." he said surely.

Anko watched Sasuke for a moment before she sighed, "I couldn't handle the anger and hatred it brought up in me, but I'm willing to bet you've been angry for a long, long time," she said, earning a dark smirk from Sasuke as she leant forward to whisper in his ear, "I bet that you like it."

Sasuke grinned and nodded, thinking she was pushing him to embrace and use his anger with the seal.

"Good." she said with a grin, "But y'know... love is stronger."

Sasuke paused and frowned, "Why would love be stronger then anger and hate?" he asked.

Anko shrugged, "Don't know or even care about the science behind it all, but I've seen it. One man Shinobi fighting for love can beat an entire army. Whereas the Shinobi fighting for hatred...well that's obviously the invading army isn't it? You don't go to someone's front door and punch them in the face cause you care about them now do ya?" she asked him.

Sasuke's brow furrowed, "...My brother's anger at the clan was enough to kill all of them." he said as if proving a point.

"No, he failed. After all you're alive still right?" She said with a smirk.

Sasuke looked down for a moment of silence, 'He... failed? No, he wanted me to be a challenge for him...' Sasuke thought.

"Wouldn't it be a bitch to rub his hatred and anger back at him with an emotion the opposite of what he used? To show that you can be better then him without the same tactics?" she asked.

Sasuke's face twitched as he frowned, 'Love?' he thought as he tried to remember the feeling.

The Curse Seal pulsed as Sasuke's eyes darkened, 'Who needs love when hatred gives me power like this!' Sasuke thought as he felt his hatred for his brother grow.

Anko stepped back with a smirk, 'Thinking about love made it activate so quick! Ha! Never thought that emotional stuff would actually work!' she thought to herself, not realising just how wrong she was.

Sasuke stood and looked ahead, the left half of his body covered in the marks of the Heaven's Curse Seal as he formed his first hand seal, "This is it!" he exclaimed as he ran through his hand seals.

"NINJA ART: SUMMONING JUTSU!" Sasuke exclaimed as he slammed his right hand on the ground.

**POOF**

Anko, Kakashi and Naruto looked over as Sasuke disappeared in a plume of smoke, "Woah! He got it first go!" Naruto exclaimed.

Kakashi nodded and turned back to Naruto, "Now it's your turn Naruto. Don't worry about Hinata or Sasuke, just remember this could be life or death depending on the animal and the challenge they may issue. You ready?" Kakashi asked.

Naruto sighed and nodded as he began to form hand seals. Though instead of using his Curse Seal, Naruto closed his eyes and used the intense chakra control his mother had taught him, 'Enough for all of my Ninjutsu... the most chakra I can give while still keeping form!' Naruto thought before his eyes snapped open.

Kakashi and the nearby Anko's eyes widened at the chakra output Naruto was showing, 'That's easily enough for my Chidori! Even my Raikiri!' Kakashi thought in amazement.

Naruto ran through the hand seals before slamming his right hand on the ground, "NINJA ART: SUMMONING JUTSU!"

**POOF**

##########

Naruto appeared in a plume of smoke, falling to his knees before he looked down at what he landed on, "Is this... a cloud?" he asked as he stood.

Naruto suddenly realised he was finding it difficult to breath as he looked around before noticing a shadow over him.

"Umm, what are you doing here?"

Naruto turned around as his eyes widened, "Wha-what? I was... but your..." Naruto said as he stepped back in amazement.

The creature lowered it's head to look at Naruto closely, "A Human summoner? Wow, haven't met one of you before."

Naruto nodded, "B-but, you're not even real!"

The Pegasus seemed to raise a brow at Naruto before looking back as it's wings as it spread them, "I'm pretty sure I am." the pegasus said.

Naruto gulped, "So... are you here to test me? Can I summon you guys?" he asked hopefully.

The pegasus shrugged, "Nah, that's Dad's decision, he's the King. Or uhh, I guess you'd call him the Boss Summons."

Naruto blinked, "Okay, thanks... where is he?" Naruto asked.

"**I'm here." **

Naruto turned and his eyes widened as a massive shape began to rise up through the clouds he stood on, "No way..." Naruto mumbled as his eyes widened.

##########

Chapter End.

Yeah Pegusi as a summons wahoo!

Imaginary virtual cookie to anyone who manages to guess Hinata's or Sasuke's Soul Summons!


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight: The Summoned Creatures.

"**I am the Great Pegasus King, Gozoku," **the massive pegasus said as it's lowered it's head to look Naruto in the eyes, **"And you shouldn't be capable of coming here." **

Naruto smiled, stuck halfway between awe and amazement at the massive white pegasus with it's blue mane and golden hooves, "Well... um... sorry?" he said, really unsure of what to say.

The massive being chuckled once before sighing, **"You obviously didn't sign our contract since the Elder Pegasus destroyed it after the second summoner. So far only our first user and Summoners – the Olympus Gods – were kind leaders for us. So how did you get here?" **it asked him.

Naruto shrugged, "I attempted the Summoning jutsu and since I haven't signed anything, I was supposed to be taken to the creature my soul most aligns with according to one of my teachers." Naruto said honestly, wanting to gain the creature's trust.

Gozoku nodded, **"A Soul Summoning..." **the massive creature mumbled as it watched Naruto.

Naruto blinked in confusion, 'Should I say something? Maybe I have to ask to take the challenge to be their summoner?' he thought.

"**Yokohama, take this Naruto boy on today's Current Flow. If he survives to the end, he's passed our test." **Gozoku said.

Naruto turned to the first pegasus he had run in to as it began speaking, "Sure thing dad, but umm... won't the low pressure kill him? Or the winds rip him off me and he'll fall." Yokohama said.

Naruto gulped as Gozoku just nodded, **"That's the point." **

Naruto nodded to himself nervously as his mind raced, watching Gozoku turn and seemingly step down into the clouds, 'Okay, Current Flow... what could that stand for? Considering it involves low pressure and high wind...' Naruto thought before his eyes widened, 'No way... we aren't going up to the Wind Currents in the upper atmosphere are we? I might freeze if we go too high...' Naruto thought in worry.

"Well you heard Dad," Yokohama said, "If you want to get a summoning contract with us then you have to... well I guess you just have to stay on and survive." he said as he turned and began to trot off.

Naruto quickly followed, though was still finding it hard to tell where the rising and falling 'ground' was underneath the clouds, "How long does the flight go for?" Naruto asked.

The pegasus looked towards the midday sun, "We should be done in about four hours, give or take an hour depending on our headwind." Yokohama said as he stretched his wings wide.

Naruto watched with a smile as the expansive wings stretched out, "Wow, that's awesome." Naruto said honestly.

Yokohama smirked as he trotted a little taller, "Thanks human." he said with a chuckle.

Naruto watched as Yokohama stepped off the edge of the cloud and glided down to another cloud, landing on it and with what Naruto could only assume was one thing.

A damn huge heard of pegasi.

##########

"I need to become single minded?" Hinata asked curiously.

Jiraiya nodded, "Yep, clear your mind of all things but one single intent. Let that one thing consume you for just a moment and it'll activate," Jiraiya explained, "The moment you've achieved that intent – like say, saving yourself from death – then the mark will be resealed."

Hinata nodded, though she had an oddly foreboding feeling about his words, "Saving myself from death huh?" she mumbled as her Byakugan scanned the surrounding area, seeing that there was nothing in the immediate area that could be dangerous.

Jiraiya nodded, "Like using the Summoning to teleport you to a safer place then falling into a ravine that'll kill you the moment you hit the bottom." Jiraiya said.

Hinata frowned as she knew there was a ravine about fifty meters behind Jiraiya, oddly enough, Jiraiya had wrapped a part of his barrier around the ravine... "Jiraiya-sensei, you wouldn't-"

Suddenly, Jiraiya grabbed her collar and turned, pitching her faster then she could even shout in shock towards the ravine before she burst through the bushes, rolling once and almost managing to catch herself before Jiraiya appeared in front of her and swung a punch at her face.

Hinata closed her eyes and raised her arms defensively before she saw her mistake, Jiraiya pulled his punch at the last second and instead, placed a hand on her stomach, "Remember, focus your mind." he said with a smirk before pushing.

Hinata fell back through the air as she slipped into the ravine, "Sensei!" she exclaimed before she screamed.

Jiraiya sighed as he looked down into the ravine, 'I hope this works, nothing like being single minded like life and death situations.' Jiraiya thought.

Hinata looked down towards the ground with tears in her eyes, 'I need chakra to do the summoning jutsu!' she thought as the seal from Tsunade began to glow and make a bright light emanate from the back of her shirt collar and sleeves, "Please! I don't wanna die!" she exclaimed as she formed hand seals.

Hinata gasped as she felt a rush of power, odd swirling marks climbing up and down her left side as if they were vines crawling along her chakra network and skin.

Hinata's eyes snapped open, her Byakugan flaring as she formed hand seals, "NINJA ART: SUMMONING JUTSU!" she screamed as she thrust her right hand below her.

**POOF**

##########

"Round up!" Yokohama neighed loudly, causing the heard of what Naruto could only assume were the adolescent pegasi, "Now go choose Naruto." Yokohama said.

Naruto looked up at him with a raised brow, "You mean I'm not going with you?" Naruto asked.

The pegasus laughed, it was weird, "No, I have to lead the flock. You can ride on any of whom seem to stand out and if the old stories are true, you will know which one once you look at each other." Yokohama said.

Naruto nodded as he took a deep breath, trying to hide his nervousness as he walked down the small slope and into the... 'The flock I guess, not herd.' he thought as he remembered how Yokohama put it.

Naruto walked into the flock, making eye contact with the many curious pegasi, 'What am I looking for here?' he thought as he paused.

Naruto turned in a full circle before seeing something that caught his eye. He walked to his right, trying so see if he could find it again. After a few moments, he turned left and walked down a bit further with a smirk, 'Ha, that's pretty cool.' he thought as he glanced at blue furred one with a rainbow mane before continuing past it.

They made eye contact, and no pull or anything.

Naruto sighed before continuing through the flock, he turned back towards the middle and took a few steps before pausing and turning his head to the right.

The pegasus turned and looked at him at the exact same moment, it's golden-blonde hair and feathers opening slightly as Naruto saw it's amber coloured eyes and surprisingly bright orange mane.

Naruto walked up to it and smiled, "Umm, hi, I'm Naruto." Naruto said politely with a formal bow.

The pegasus neighed and bowed in return before opening it's wings, giving Naruto access to sitting on it's back. Naruto hopped up onto the horse's saddle that appeared when he sat back, though there was just a saddle and stirrups and no reins, "Do you mind if I hold onto your mane?" Naruto asked.

The pegasus just ruffled out it's orange locks for Naruto to grip, which he did so lightly. His eyes widened as the hair wrapped around his hands and took a comfortable position for Naruto to hold, 'Can you hear me now Naruto-san?' a feminine voice asked.

Naruto's eyes widened, "Is that you?" Naruto asked as he leant to the side.

The pegasus turned it's neck to look at him and nodded as it nearly chirped, 'Hold on as best you can, we'll talk in flight okay? For now we need to get ready for take-off.' she thought to him before turning ahead.

Naruto looked around as is the flock of over fifty pegasi took formation in a triangle pattern. Naruto's eyes widened as he saw Yokohama spread his wings in preparation before the entire flock did the same, their wings shining in the sunlight before they all began galloping forward. Naruto quickly tried to copy the way he had seen people riding horses in movies, though after a few moments he bent his knees and sent chakra through his legs to glue himself to the saddle with his chakra. His eyes widened as he saw the pegasi begin to gallop off the edge of the cloud, "Wait! Isn't there a like, some kind of warning?!" he exclaimed.

His pegasus seemed to laugh, 'Yeah, hold on now!' he heard her say telepathically as her wings expanded.

Naruto's eyes widened before they narrowed, his Uzugan swirling as he tried to focus to see properly. He gritted his teeth as he finally got the rhythm before his pegasus got to the edge of the cloud and leapt off "Aahhh!" Naruto exclaimed as they began to dive down through the clouds.

Naruto's eyes let him see a few more layers of clouds covered in pegasi before they seemed to fly down the funnel of a tornado. Naruto gritted his teeth and held himself close as his pegasus tucked in it's wings and dove through it's centre.

Naruto opened his eyes as the massive amount of suction stopped and he became quite cold. He looked around in amazement as he saw what they were flying over, "Is that... the Land of Water?" Naruto asked in amazement.

'Yes it is,' her voice said as Naruto looked down, seeing that other then the colouring, it looked exactly like the pictures from the books they learned from in class, 'We're re-energising the trade winds that flow over these lands so that they can continue the journey around the planet. Once every six months the King flies the full trip with his family to ensure the Wind Currents of the planet stay aligned.'

Naruto nodded in amazement at her words and the view, "Wow..." he said before the cold was beginning to be a little much for him.

Naruto tightened his grip on the saddle with his chakra before taking one hand from the hair on the horse's back, he formed a single handed seal to concentrate before he activated a basic survival jutsu, "NINJA ART: STIMULATED CIRCULATION!" Naruto exclaimed.

The pegasus beneath his legs shivered in delight, 'Wow, you just became a little space heater!' she exclaimed with a chirp.

Naruto took a grip of the mane again as the flock flew through the air, "Glad I could make this a little warmer for you!" Naruto said with a grin, "It's awesome for me!"

The pegasus neighed and nodded before looking ahead, prompting Naruto to look ahead as well, "What's happening?" he asked.

The pegasus flew a little higher as the others nearby either lowered or raised themselves slightly to give more room, 'We're entering the air current! Hold on!'

"Thanks for the advice horsey!" Naruto exclaimed before they were buffeted by the wind.

Naruto gripped the saddle tightly as the pegasus eventually stabilised, 'My name is Kitakaze! But I get called Kaze, just don't call me horsey alright!' Kitakaze shouted.

Naruto grinned, "Alright then Kaze-san! I promise!" Naruto exclaimed with a laugh as the flock levelled out and soared across the sky.

##########

Sasuke chuckled, "So I have six hours to try and not be hit for five minutes straight?" he asked as his Curse Mark receded back into the seal.

The large white tiger nodded, **"Yes, all you need to do is survive against one of our pairs." **She answered with a powerful voice.

Sasuke nodded and turned, seeing a black and white striped tiger and a brown and black striped tiger come out from the large group, the two of them circling him slowly as he smirked, 'I can do this. Just ten minutes without being hit.' he thought as his eyes focussed on the brown tiger as it growled.

Sasuke fell forward as he was suddenly clawed shallowly across his back, making him turn to look at the brown tiger again as the black one appeared from it's speed dash next to it, "Okay then, if that's how you want to do this." Sasuke mumbled before he closed his eyes.

The moment he did, the black tiger blurred forward again, though this time as it passed, Sasuke appeared just out of it's reach.

His Sharingan eyes blazed as the brown tiger fell down towards him from the air, making it hesitate for a moment in which he used to roll forward and kick away, landing in a hand stand and pushing up to dodge the black one again as he was put in a corner by the two, 'Now, it's happening!' he thought as his Sharingan swirled slowly.

The two tigers growled before the brown one leapt up again as a feint for the black one to blur forward. Sasuke leapt up to dodge the black one before using it as a springboard to dodge the brown one.

"Ah!" Sasuke shouted in shock as the black tiger let out a roar that made a Shockwave, throwing Sasuke back up towards the airborne tiger that pinned him down with a paw.

Sasuke coughed blood before he clapped his hands, using a substitution to escape up into one of the trees in the surrounding area.

Sasuke panted as he took a deep breath and placed his green glowing hand on his chest, 'NINJA ART: BASIC PALM HEALING JUTSU!' he thought as he made the pain lessen and took the stress off the wound.

He dodged the next two swipes before kicking off the tree, the black tiger swiping through his after-image as he appeared on the ground below the tree.

He barely managed to duck the next swipe before he blocked a hit that threw him across the dirt patch, letting him roll up onto his feet panting.

He looked up as the two tigers began to circle him again, 'Dammit! I need to be faster!' he thought as a second tomoe appeared in his left eye, "Come on!"

##########

**POOF**

Hinata arrived with a gasp as the blizzard-winds blew the smoke away, her Byakugan quickly showed her the surrounding area and the small boulder in front of her with four words written on it plainly.

'Find us and survive.' she thought with a sigh as her Byakugan spread out, 'Us who? Where the hell do I go!?' she thought as her Curse Seal continued pulsing.

'I have to keep going to live!' she thought as her determination solidified and her mind focussed on that single goal, 'I will survive this!'

And with that, she saw what looked like thick foot prints in the distance, obviously larger then human but honestly, she had no idea what could make something like that other then maybe an elephant.

She dashed off as fast as she could, trying to ignore the freezing cold as she ran.

#########

"This is awesome." Anko said as she ate from a bucket of popcorn that she had somehow gotten.

Kakashi looked up from his book and nodded, "Mhmm... how does it work again?" Kakashi asked Jiraiya.

Jiraiya smirked as he turned away from the wall of chakra, "I just used a visual jutsu to give us glimpses of them. This is one of the reasons my spy network is so wide-spread." he said before turning back.

They looked at the three circles on the large, wall, being given a foggy view of the three gennin as they pushed through their trials.

"Twenty bucks says Naruto finishes first." Kakashi said.

Anko shrugged, "I think Sasuke will win first. I'm down for twenty." she said.

Jiraiya watched Hinata dashing through the snow for a moment, for just a second he saw a clear view of her eyes, "I put fifty on Hinata." he said with a smirk.

##########

Hours later, Naruto and Kaze rose up out of the headwind, Naruto smiling as he purposefully breathed slowly and deeply to stay well in control, 'Do you see that Naruto?' Kaze asked.

Naruto nodded, "Yeah!" he shouted over the loud winds, "What is it?!" he asked.

Kaze turned her neck to look back at him, 'It's the sure signs of an incoming cold front so we're gonna drop down under the air currents for the last stretch, it'll be less windy, but we'll be entering normal clouds over the Land of Lightning again before we head home.' she informed him.

Naruto nodded as he leaned in closer to her neck, his hands running through the hair of her mane again before a thought occurred to him, "So... is it like, all hair? Or do I call this bit fur?" he asked as he patted her neck.

Kaze scoffed as she rolled her eyes, 'It's all hair and feathers. No fur on this hide.' she thought before looking ahead again, 'Is your Ninjutsu holding up? You think you're gonna die up here?'

Naruto grinned, knowing that if he hadn't been sticking himself to the saddle with his chakra he'd have fallen to his death long ago. And if that hadn't been the end, the chilling winds may have been if not for his survival technique that basically forced his body to be warm... though he was going to pass out later for certain.

Naruto squinted his Uzugan eyes, "Hey! I thought you said they were just clouds! That looks like a storm!" Naruto exclaimed.

Kaze raised a brow as she looked ahead, barely able to see the dark clouds on the horizon before she levelled out with the oddly blue pegasus and chirped like a bird.

Naruto watched as the blue pegasus' wings folded in and it dove down to catch up to the front of the group, 'There isn't supposed to be any storms along our flight path, but considering what Blue Bell's just spotted – thanks to you I might add – we may be running into the overturn of a large battle.' Kaze thought to him.

Naruto chuckled, "Blue Bell? That sound like a medical term that comes from when a male is left 'hanging' so to speak." Naruto said as he looked down, trying to see what sort of battle on the ground could've made a storm.

'I'm familiar with the term blue balls Naruto,' she thought to him with an obviously not amused tone in her thoughts, 'And you're looking in the wrong place. The only battles that happen up here are the aerial titans fighting for our lands in the summon realm.' she thought.

Naruto raised a brow before looking at the fast approaching storm with his Uzugan enhancing his sight exponentially, 'Aerial titan?' he thought curiously.

"CLIMB!" Yokohama's voice rang throughout the flock.

Naruto leaned in close as Kaze started to beat her wings rapidly, the large flock lifting up and into the heavy blowing currents before coming out the top above the clouds a few minutes later. They continued climbing as Naruto looked down past the clouds and his eyes widened as he saw movement in the oversized clouds, "What the hell is that?" Naruto asked.

The Pegasus focussed on flying as her thoughts got to Naruto, 'I told you, aerial titans.'

Naruto nodded as he saw what must've been two silhouettes lit up by a flash of lightning on the underside of the clouds, 'Holy shit... those things are massive...' he thought as for just a second, a gargantuan green-scaled tail flicked out of the largest cloud and nearly killed two of the pegasi at the back of the group, "Are they gonna be ok?" Naruto asked loudly.

Kaze nodded, 'Yeah, if they were in real trouble then we would know... by the looks of things we're being evacuated.' she thought to him.

Naruto looked ahead as a small group of clouds began to spiral together before opening up in what seemed like a doorway similar to the exit path from the Summoning plain, "This is awesome!" he exclaimed as the flock turned upwards and was sucked into the vortex leading back to their world.

##########

Sasuke panted heavily as he squatted on all fours, facing down the two tigers opposite him.

The faster of the two now had it's speed rendered useless due to it's injured hind legs, leaving the stronger, orange tiger to be the one facing him at maximum efficiency.

The Great White Tiger's eyes were intently focussed on Sasuke, **'Just thirty more seconds and he's actually done it... no one's ever found the will to fight back let alone achieve a hit... and this boy is only a gennin... what is this dark power he wields?'**

Sasuke closed his eyes for a moment as the Curse Seal stretched even further across his skin. His Sharingan eyes snapped open, moving between the two tigers that were his opponents, "Now YOU need to dodge!" Sasuke exclaimed as he dashed forward.

The orange tiger managed to dodge the straight-punch, but it turned out to be a distraction as Sasuke charged at the black tiger before it could recover. He kicked at it's jaw and managed to land the hit before he leapt up and away.

The orange tiger began to charge at Sasuke as his Sharingan span, letting him not only dodge it, but slide under the attack to kick it's stomach.

"**Stop!"** the Great White Tiger ordered.

Sasuke stopped the attack as he was distracted, losing focus on his Curse Mark and having it begin to deactivate as he looked up, realising that the now falling tiger was about to land on him. He raised his arms before the black tiger knocked him gently onto his back, standing over him protectively to catch the orange tiger on it's back as it slipped into a resting position over Sasuke.

Sasuke looked up from his place stuck under the tigers, panting heavily as he looked at the Great White Tiger.

She looked down at him and stared for a moment before seemingly smirking, **"You have passed our test young one. You shall follow me now."** She ordered as she got up and began to walk away.

Sasuke barely managed to pull himself halfway out from under the tigers before the black one leaned forward and picked him up with it's teeth by the collar, "Hey!" Sasuke exclaimed.

Sasuke blinked as he was placed safely on his feet by the tiger. He went to speak before it licked his face, covering him in drool.

Sasuke forced a smile as he quickly limped after the leader of the tigers, wiping the blood and saliva from his face as he began to smirk, 'A Summoning Contract with beasts like these... at least I know they're strong.' he thought as he rolled his shoulder in pain, 'I wouldn't have imagined I'd miss having Naruto's healing abilities around.'

##########

**POOF**

Jiraiya, Kakashi and Anko looked behind them as a massive amount of smoke dissipated, "Ha! I knew it!" Jiraiya exclaimed with a grin.

Hinata was smiling as she shivered, having a new addition to her attire in the form of a large scroll across her back, "F-finished, but it wasn't fun." she said, though she was glad to be in warm temperatures again.

Jiraiya continued grinning as he nodded, "So what was it? We lost track of you after you entered that cave." Jiraiya said.

Hinata groaned as she sat down shivering slightly as she took her new summoning scroll from her back and hugged it, "I'll show you later." she said, obviously tired, hungry and low on chakra.

Anko walked over to her and opened her jacket, taking one arm out before wrapping that open side around Hinata, "You okay brat?" she asked.

Hinata nodded, looking down at the cloak and knowing now from it's warmth why Anko wore so little underneath, "I am now Anko-sensei. Thanks a ton." she said with a smile.

Anko smirked and pulled her closer, putting Hinata's arm through the opposite sleeve so that they had half each, "No worries, which one of your boys do you reckon'll finish first?" she asked.

Hinata smiled softly to herself, liking the sound of 'her' boys, "I think... I think Sasuke will try the hardest to be first." she said.

Anko smirked, "You choose your words really carefully Hinata, does that mean you think Naruto will beat him?" she asked.

Hinata shook her head, "It depends, like I said Sasuke will push himself the hardest... but Naruto won't need to push himself, he'll make friends." she said with a confident smile.

Anko chuckled before glancing up at Kakashi and Jiraiya, the latter of the two watching the screens while Kakashi merely read his porn, 'Well... I hope Sasuke hurries up, I don't wanna have to pay these two goons.' Anko thought.

**POOF**

Anko grinned as Sasuke appeared on one knee, his hand on the large scroll he held on the floor in front of him, he stood with a smirk, "Summoning Contract for the Jungle Tigers." Sasuke said proudly.

Kakashi blinked and closed his eye, "Damn..." Kakashi whispered to himself.

Anko and Jiraiya grinned as they held their hands towards Kakashi, ""Pay up."" they said in unison.

Kakashi sighed as he closed his book, "How about I just get the group an afternoon snack instead?" he asked, wanting to get out of the situation.

**POOF**

"In that case," Naruto said with a grin as he appeared in a plume of smoke, "I'll have a family sized pork ramen with miso Sensei!" Naruto exclaimed happily as he stood with apparently no new summoning scroll.

The group stared at him for a moment before Kakashi spoke, "You didn't pass their test?" Kakashi asked.

Naruto grinned as he pulled up his right sleeve, showing a mark on his wrist that was of two crossed over wings, "I did. But since I'm apparently only their second human summoner they don't have a scroll. That way unworthy people can't try to use them." he explained.

"I'll have a pork ramen too." Jiraiya said with a grin.

"Custard dumplings and a three-piece dango set." Anko announced to Kakashi before nudging Hinata.

"Umm, same as Anko-sensei please." she said respectfully to Kakashi.

The saddened copy ninja sighed, then as to top it off Sasuke spoke, "Vegetable ramen." Sasuke said simply.

Kakashi sighed as he put his book away, 'Well crap... this way I'll probably lose more money then I thought.' he thought as he walked away sadly.

Jiraiya and Anko looked at Naruto as he crossed his arms, "So... pegasi right?" Jiraiya asked.

Naruto nodded, "Yep... kinda thought they were mythical." Naruto said.

Anko shrugged, "Myths gotta start somewhere, I guess this one started with those sky ponies." she said with a grin.

Naruto smirked at her words as he walked over to Jiraiya and the others, noticing Hinata wrapped up in Anko's coat as his smirk fell, "Hinata? Are you okay?" he asked as he turned towards them.

Hinata nodded, "Yeah, I'm doing great actually." she said, rather snug in her half of Anko's coat.

Anko grinned at Hinata, "Hey, you want one of these? Cause I still got my old stuff and should have a couple around your size." Anko said.

Hinata looked down at the large coat for a second as she thought about it's surprising warmth and her new-found friends, 'Considering some of their techniques... I guess I should probably rug up a bit.' she thought as he Byakugan admired the three intricate seals stitched into it, "Thanks Anko-sensei, does your old one have these seals stitched into it too?" Hinata asked.

Anko shrugged, "I can put the other two on them, but my old coats all have the temperature circulation seal in the back already." she explained.

Hinata nodded, "Thanks Sensei." she said with a smile.

Jiraiya grinned as he placed a hand on both Sasuke's and Naruto's shoulders, "How do you two feel? No adverse effects from the seal's usage?" he asked.

Sasuke shrugged off the hand and nodded as he knelt to grab his scroll, "Nope, later." Sasuke said before turning to leave.

Jiraiya frowned as Sasuke walked away, "Don't worry Jiraiya-sensei, he's always been like that." Naruto said with a grin.

Jiraiya nodded, "Hmm..." he hummed, obviously in contemplative thought over Sasuke before he turned to Naruto, "And you? I know you didn't actually use the seal, but how was it flying like that? I didn't even know it was possible." he said.

Naruto grinned, "It. Was. Awesome!" Naruto exclaimed.

Jiraiya laughed at Naruto's obvious joy, "Congrats then kid! I guess that means you guys are ready for today's D-rank." Jiraiya said.

Naruto's grin fell slightly, "Right... great..." he mumbled.

Jiraiya chuckled before leaning in closer to Naruto, "Here's a tip, train with all the different types of your summons. You may bond with a specific animal but more often then you'd expect you might need a specific skill set that one of the other summons have." Jiraiya said.

Naruto nodded, "Yeah... that makes sense." Naruto said before looking up at Jiraiya, "Do you... could you help me with something?" Naruto asked.

Jiraiya sighed, "What is it kid?" he asked, not wanting to do anything too taxing.

Naruto scratched the back of his head sheepishly, "This barrier blocks those able to sense the use of chakra right?" he asked.

Jiraiya nodded curiously, "Yeah..."

"Can you put them in our training room at home so I can practise with the Curse Mark and the Fox's chakra?" he asked.

Jiraiya frowned for a moment as he stared at Naruto seriously, "... On one condition; you only ever do it when Tsunade or me is with you, promise me." Jiraiya said.

Naruto saluted, "Yes sir!" Naruto exclaimed with a grin.

##########

"Alright, I'll see you later then." Jiraiya said as he walked off with his food in hand.

Kakashi sighed as the rest of the food was snatched from his hands, "Hey... I have some of my own dango in there..." he mumbled as the bag was ripped apart.

Kakashi stumbled back as a small box hit him in the face, "Here ya go Scarecrow." Anko said with a grin.

Kakashi sat down and sighed as the others dug into their meals, 'Well... I guess this is better then having to take them out on a D-rank...' he thought.

Anko stood up, taking her coat from Hinata as she grinned, "I'm gonna go get your mission for the day, 'kay?" she said as she walked off eating her dango.

Kakashi looked down at his feet sadly, 'Dammit...' he thought with a sigh.

#########

_Two hours later_

#########

"Alright guys," Kakashi said as he read from the scroll in his hands, "We're to go make a dinner order for the workers staying late in the Hokage tower, the orders have been chosen from five lists so let's split them up." he said.

Naruto nodded, "Sure, it's already getting late Sensei." Naruto mumbled as he looked up at the setting sun.

Kakashi looked over the lists, deciding to just split them up by the amount on the lists, "Alright... Sasuke can have these two, they're close by and you only have to get three things. Hinata can have this one with the most things but one place and Naruto can have this one which is down by the South Gate." Kakashi said. Sasuke pointedly looked at the one left in Kakashi's hand, causing the scarecrow to shrug, "I got this one." he said.

The group nodded and looked down at their lists before parting ways.

Kakashi watched Sasuke leap onto a nearby building before moving out of sight, Hinata turned and ran down the footpath at high speed and Naruto leapt up onto a telegraph pole and then towards a rooftop.

Kakashi turned and calmly walked into the nearby coffee shop to order sixteen coffees, 'Easy done.' he thought as he flicked open his book to read as he walked.

Naruto began to run across the rooftop for a few steps before channelling his Senju strength through his legs, leaping high up into the air and flipping around to land on the tallest pole off the top of a tall building, he leapt again, being almost thrown dangerously high as he bit his thumb and ran the blood over the tattoo on his wrist, "SUMMONING JUTSU!"

**POOF**

Naruto burst from the cloud of smoke atop Kitakaze, the pegasus opening it's wings as Naruto settled into the saddle more comfortably, 'So this is your village, I have seen it from far above, it's nice.' she thought to Naruto.

Naruto grinned, "Thanks Kaze, we're going over there, this side of the big wall near the gate, see?" Naruto said loudly.

Kaze nodded and swooped down towards the roofs, 'Got it.'

##########

Kakashi wandered out of the coffee shop calmly after treating himself to a greet tea, precariously balancing trays of coffee cups in a single hand somehow while still reading his book, 'Any moment now...' he thought as he came to a stop inside the gate of the Hokage compound.

Kakashi waited for barely a minute before Sasuke came into view, a large food carrier on his back as he walked with a frown on his face and sweat nearly pouring from his face. After a few moments he came to a stop next to Kakashi and placed down the steaming carrier, "This is too hot." Sasuke complained.

Kakashi chuckled, "Yeah well, too bad." Kakashi said as he continued reading.

Sasuke scowled before something caught his eye to their right. The duo looked with wide eyes as Naruto's Pegasus swooped past, Naruto stepping off it at the exact point it passed them, "All accounted for." Naruto said as he held up the plastic bag in each hand.

Sasuke frowned as he watched the pegasus fly up into the sky before it disappeared in a cloud of smoke, "Your summons can fly." Sasuke said.

Naruto nodded, "Yep." he said casually.

Sasuke glared at him, obviously wanting more information though he was clearly more distracted by the large being coming down the main road.

Seeing Naruto's stare, the other two looked ahead as their eyes widened, seeing two Hinatas sitting on a Woolly Mammoth, as they held volumes of food on it's back, "Sensei! I got everyone's bento's!" The closer Hinata shouted with a smile while the further one waved.

Naruto blinked, "...So she can summon Mammoths?" Naruto asked in amazement.

Kakashi nodded, "Apparently so... and here I thought they were extinct... completely..." Kakashi mumbled, obviously shocked and amazed.

Sasuke sighed, "You're more shocked at a thought-to-be-dead animal then you are about Naruto's animals who aren't supposed to exist at all?" Sasuke asked, honestly surprised by that.

Kakashi shrugged while Naruto grinned, "Still... it's pretty cool right?" Naruto asked with a grin.

##########

_One Week Later_

##########

"Well I think they are certainly ready." Jiraiya said over his bowl of noodles.

Kakashi looked up from his book, apparently still waiting for his meal, "Of course they are. Doesn't mean I am. I've been getting paid for this nice long break," Kakashi said before looking back at his book, "I don't really want to go on another C-rank."

"So I can take 'em?"

Kakashi and Jiraiya looked up as Anko pulled a stool over to their table, flipping a scroll through the air into her other hand as she sat, "Cause I haven't been to the Land of Waves in a couple of years, it'd be nice to see those beaches again." Anko said.

Kakashi blinked before glancing at Jiraiya, "The Land of Waves... isn't that the setting of number two?" Kakashi asked.

Anko raised a brow as Jiraiya nodded with a grin, "Ah yes, the shores of the Land of Waves, where a peasant finds true love and strives throughout many hardships to get him," he said with a suggestive wiggle of his eyebrows, "And he gives her his _hardship _is return." Jiraiya said with a chuckle.

Anko's mouth fell open as she looked between the two chuckling men, "You're not seriously talking about one of those books are you?" Anko said as she pointed to Kakashi's Icha Icha Paradise with the mission scroll.

Kakashi opened the scroll, making Anko look at her hand in confusion and notice she was holding his book, "I'll be taking the mission, feel free to read up Anko, you may learn a thing or two." Kakashi said with a chuckle.

Anko scowled before going to throw the book away, "Who cares about some stupid book?" she said as she swung her arm... and realising Kakashi had snatched his book back, "Would you stop that?" she asked angrily.

Kakashi nodded and stood as he pocketed the mission scroll and opened his book, "Kay, I'll be off to the Land of Waves then." he said as he walked out of the bar.

Anko sighed as Jiraiya laughed, "Hey you're the one who walked into that," he said as he waved over a waitress, "Well hey, Kakashi's got a meal on the way and I still got a bottle left," Jiraiya said with a nod towards the bottle on the table, "You wanna join? Free meal." Jiraiya offered.

Anko shrugged and nodded, "Sure why not?" she asked as he poured her a drink.

##########

"Yes! Finally another C-rank!" Hinata cheered as she walked down the barely-lit streets of the village.

Sasuke and Naruto yawned in unison, ""Hn."" they both groaned.

Hinata frowned as she looked between the two of them, "Come on guys, why aren't you more excited?" she asked.

Naruto shrugged, "My in-village duties as a medic ninja is equal to a C-rank and it gives me time to keep learning more things... I wouldn't mind another week without serious missions." Naruto said.

Sasuke shrugged, "I've learned more this last week then I have the entire time under Kakashi's watch. I'm ready for a B-rank." he said surely.

Hinata raised an eyebrow at Sasuke as Naruto smirked, "Sasu-gay, we've only done a single C-rank before now, they know we're not ready to go on B-ranks already." Hinata said.

Sasuke glared at her as Naruto chuckled, "You might not be, but I know Naruto and I are." he said surely.

Naruto raised a brow at that, about to object when Hinata cut him off, "Oh please, you see him as your only challenge cause you're sexist. Just cause Naruto-nii is stronger then me doesn't mean you are." Hinata said with a frown.

Sasuke glared at Hinata as he stopped in the middle of the road, "You really think you're better then me?"

"Hold on hold on!" Naruto shouted as he stepped between Hinata and Sasuke to try and make peace, "...You guys think I'm the strongest?" he said with a bragging grin.

Sasuke and Hinata glared at him in unison, making him him chuckle nervously before Hinata bopped him on the head, "Well... noone's as weak as Sasuke." Hinata said while sticking her tongue out at Sasuke.

The Uchiha's brow furrowed as he tried to glare at Hinata, though he couldn't glare seriously at the girl as she blew her tongue at him, "...Hn." he said grunted before marching ahead. Naruto sighed as Hinata hid her giggle at 'winning' the argument. Though before Sasuke replied he raised a brow as he looked ahead, "...Sensei's on time..."

Naruto and Hinata followed his gaze, their eyes widening as they saw their Sensei talking to a man they could only assume was the client for the mission, "Holy shit..." Hinata whispered in amazement.

Naruto nudged her side with his elbow, "Language Hinata." he scolded as he proudly approached Kakashi and their client.

Kakashi eye smiled, "And here they are now Tazuna-san, my team of super-gennin." he said with a chuckle as he gestured to Naruto and the others.

The man known as Tazuna looked down at the kids and blinked, "These kids? They're super ninjas?" Tazuna asked disbelievingly as he stepped towards them, "Ah!"

Naruto smiled up at Tazuna, having picked the man up with seemingly no effort to make sure he didn't step on a snail, "Please be careful Tazuna-san." Naruto said as he carefully put the fully grown man down in favour of lifting the snail and carrying it over to a tree.

Tazuna blinked at Naruto and the casual display of strength in awe before he looked at the other two, seeing a blind girl and another kid, "So, he's like the leader?" Tazuna asked, not seeing anything special about the other two.

Sasuke raised a brow as he had Tazuna watch his eyes change colour to that of the Sharingan, "Him? No, he's just the medic." Sasuke said with a shrug.

Tazuna blinked before looking at Hinata, staring at her face as he was trying to figure out how she could function as a ninja with her eyes covered by her headband. He went to wave his hands in front of her face when she grabbed them, "It's nice to meet you Tazuna-san... please stop staring at me." she said with an obviously uncomfortable smile.

Tazuna nodded, 'Okay... maybe these kids aren't what they look to be...' he thought before shrugging, 'I just hope they're as super as that Anko lady implied they were...'

"Alright team," Kakashi said, "Though Tazuna will be taking us to the Land of Waves, we'll have him in the centre of the formation for protection," Kakashi said as he glanced around the group, "Sasuke, plan?" he asked.

Sasuke smirked as he nodded, "Hinata at the front with her eyes. Sensei take the rear so you can keep an eye on the client. Naruto and I will guard the sides." he said as he stood to Tazuna's left.

The group began to head out the village gate as they got into formation, Kakashi nodding at Sasuke's words as they finally found themselves in position, "Since it is a C-rank what type of enemy is it that we'll most likely be facing?" Kakashi asked as he watched the group from behind.

Sasuke's smirk seemed to grow, "Nothing more then bandits. This being a C-rank means that there's no known outside threat." Sasuke explained.

That's when they saw it.

Hinata's eyes let her see them all anyway while Naruto only noticed because of the direction he had to face to watch Sasuke. The moment they mentioned bandits being the only threat Tazuna seemed to become extremely nervous and stare into his seemingly bottomless alcoholic beverage.

Naruto glanced over his shoulder at Kakashi with a frown, making the Jonin nod, "What's wrong Naruto?" Kakashi asked.

The group focussed on Naruto as he made sure he didn't look at Tazuna to give anything away, "...Article fourteen of Project Icarus during the last Great War Sensei." Naruto said.

Kakashi's eye widened at Naruto, 'How would he know about that? Only Shisui, Itachi, Yamato and I were there for that mission... but he is right,' Kakashi thought before sighing, 'Tazuna is worried about a much greater threat then just bandits... I trusted my instincts then and called in the Uchiha duo, the very reason I'm still alive to think about it today... a little back up won't hurt anyone.' Kakashi thought as he nodded again.

Naruto smiled before looking ahead, seeing Hinata had turned her head to him curiously before she seemed to glance over her shoulder at Tazuna, "Tazuna-san, if you don't mind me asking, what is it you do in the Land of Waves?"

Tazuna swelled with pride as he began to brag about his importance and the bridge which he was currently building. He talked of his home, his family and all the hopes they have for the future and the happiness of their past... he breezed over their current situation, avoiding many important details and hesitating about anything to do with his town's state of affairs... for six hours.

Hinata regretted asking the question completely.

##########

Chapter End.

Thanks all for reading :) hope to hear from you and see you next time for Chapter Nine: Adventures in the Land of Waves.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine: Journey to the Land of Waves

"Are you sure we've left the Land of Fire? It doesn't look any different here..." Naruto said.

"That looks pretty different." Sasuke said.

The group looked up as from above the trees, a light mist began to roll in, "Yeah, we're getting close now." Tazuna said with a hopeful smile.

Hinata whistled suddenly a soft tune, making the group stiffen before beginning to look around them intensely. Naruto's Uzugan swirling as Sasuke's own dojutsu sparked to life.

Kakashi continued looking at his book as he already had assessed the threat, 'I wonder how they'll do, will they all spot it?' he thought.

Hinata stopped her whispering as they continued moving forward at a steady pace making Tazuna wonder why they had become even more quiet then usual.

The group turned as they moved past a puddle on the opposite side of the road, two people appearing from it and beginning to dash towards Kakashi as the team took action.

Hinata and Sasuke leapt off the ground as Naruto knelt, "HAA!" Naruto shouted as he punched the ground.

The two Mist ninjas stumbled as Kakashi smirked and looked up from his book, 'The Demon Brothers of the Hidden Mist.' Kakashi thought in realisation.

The ninja known as Meizu blocked the single thrown kunai, only for a trio of senbon to appear from it's shadow and pierce his shoulder, making him slow down so Hinata could land in front of him and take a slightly modified Gentle Fist stance.

Sasuke's flurry of shuriken was blocked by Gozu, but they worked as a distraction for a kunai of his to stab through their chain and trap it against the ground.

They both were stuck for just a moment before they unclipped the chain and continued their charge, this time aiming straight for Tazuna.

Naruto appeared in a shunshin between them and Tazuna, though Gozu suddenly stopped due to the wires wrapped around his arms and connected to Naruto's previously thrown shuriken. Gozu looked up as his eyes followed the wire, seeing Sasuke finish his hand seals, "FIRE STYLE: DRAGON FLAME TRAIL!" Sasuke shouted.

Meizu froze as he felt some chakra stick to his feet, he looked down as he saw a Trigram spread out from behind him, "EIGHT TRIGRAMS: THIRTY-TWO PALMS!" Hinata exclaimed as she leapt at his back.

Meizu turned and received a flurry of attacks to his shoulders and arms, rendering them slower before she finished her combo and leapt up. Meizu gasped as he felt his chakra points moving his chakra oddly to try and compensate half of the ones in his limbs being shut down. His gaze followed Hinata up, not seeing Naruto had leapt forward until the blonde's fist slammed into the back of his head to knock him out.

Gozu shouted as the fire set him alight while the wires held him still, letting Hinata fall at him from her leap as Sasuke pulled his strings tighter, making the Chunnin jolt backwards for just a moment.

"EIGHT TRIGRAMS: PRESSURE DAMAGE!" Hinata shouted as she moved past Gozu.

Her fingers brushed Gozu's burning throat as Meizu slammed into him, the two of them flying off at the exact moment Gozu's throat popped outwards thanks to an overpressurized chakra point, throwing the blood into the air for Kakashi to block just before it hit his book.

Kakashi looked up at the bloodied corpse before looking over at the unconscious brother on the other side of the road, "So...two Chunnin level enemies that were quite obviously here for Tazuna..." Kakashi said as he turned and eye smiled at Tazuna, "I don't suppose there's anything you're keeping from us is there?" Kakashi asked politely.

Sasuke knelt as he took out a scroll, writing out a Storage Seal within the minute and sealing Gozu's corpse away while Naruto jogged over to the unconscious enemy and Hinata scanned for any other presences in the area with her eyes.

Tazuna gulped, "W-well... umm..." Tazuna mumbled.

Kakashi's gaze levelled with his, "You've broken the rules Tazuna. Either you tell us what's really going on right now or we leave." Kakashi promised.

The trio of gennin came over as Naruto used their unconscious captive as a chair, "N-No! I paid for this mission so you have to help!" Tazuna said.

"You paid for a C-rank," Naruto said, "A Chunnin presence make it B-rank." Naruto mentioned with a frown.

Tazuna spluttered, "Y-yes but... I-I can pay the difference later?" Tazuna asked, hoping they'd agree.

Kakashi sighed, "The pay isn't the important part Tazuna. You've put my team in unexpected danger that if they were any other gennin team I wouldn't have been surprised if someone was killed." Kakashi said, stressing the importance of Tazuna's lie, "We're going to return to the village now." Kakashi said as he turned away with a wave, "Later."

Tazuna watched with wide eyes as Sasuke scowled but followed, though Hinata just frowned as she looked to Naruto, the blonde scowling as he stared at Tazuna, "Tell me why you need us." Naruto said.

Tazuna looked at Naruto, tears visible in his eyes as he quickly told his tale, "M-my bridge needs to be built to save my home town, there's this man, Gato, he's bought out all the shipping warehouses and controls all the trade in and around the town. The few he couldn't buy he had destroyed. He's ruthless, he's starving our town and threatening to kill us if we don't join his alliance and become his slaves!" Tazuna shouted, his gaze turning to Kakashi as everyone turned to face him, "I don't want my family to be killed or my daughter..." he hesitated as he tried not to cry, "Please help us!" Tazuna begged.

The group was quiet for a moment, Kakashi looking around the group as he wondered what they were going to want to do.

"Okay, I'll help." Naruto said with a nod.

Immediately Hinata nodded, "Y-yes, me too." she stammered nervously, a bit of her old self showing through.

Sasuke looked at Kakashi with a frown, "Can we Sensei?" Sasuke asked, for once being slightly respectful.

Kakashi glanced around the group with an eye smile, "Alright then, you heard them Tazuna, we're still gonna try and help." Kakashi said with a thumbs up.

Tazuna's tears increased as he began to laugh in joy, not even noticing as Naruto gave the unconscious ex Mist-Chunnin to Kakashi, the Jonin dragging him into the woods.

Nearly ten minutes later, Tazuna had calmed down and took a large mouthful of his drink, "Oh,"  
he sighed in relief before looking up and noticing Kakashi was gone, "Where'd your Sensei go?" Tazuna asked curiously.

Hinata turned slightly back towards Tazuna, having secretly been watching their Sensei, "He's... well he's on the way back now." she said with a nervous smile.

Kakashi walked out from the trees and eye smiled at the group while waving, "Let's get going guys." he said as he walked ahead.

Naruto's eyes narrowed at Kakashi's other hand, the slight amount of blood on the lower collar that he kept behind his back while reading his book.

"Naruto," Sasuke said, "Get to it."

Naruto nodded as he realised everyone was back in their positions from earlier, "Alright, coming!" he shouted as he sprinted into position.

##########

The group walked for hours, deciding not to make camp and choosing to march throughout the night as they moved deeper into the Land of Waves.

Hinata yawned as her used the motion to check her blind spot, seeing that it was clear around them, she focussed ahead, her hidden eyes narrowing as she saw someone crouching in the shrubbery.

It was a masked ninja, apparently from the Hidden Mist. The mask made it so that Hinata couldn't see their face, but it was most definitely a rare person, having the anatomy of both male and female. Taking notes... on Team 7.

Hinata frowned and glanced over her shoulder at Kakashi, seeing the Jonin looked as though he was acting normal, but something gave him away to those who were familiar with him; he had put away his book.

Hinata softly began to whistle, putting the team on guard before Naruto spoke up, "Hey, y'know those guys from before? The Demon Brothers?" Naruto asked as he walked backwards, giving their formation an opening that was his back, perfectly available for the chakra signature in the bushes to attack.

Kakashi sighed but nodded, "What about them Naruto?" Kakashi asked.

Naruto continued walking backwards, confirming that at this moment in time, the person in the shrubbery wasn't going to attack them, "Well, wouldn't it make sense that weak guys like them would just be following someone stronger? I mean, Chunnin level missing ninjas usually don't get to stay 'missing' for too long do they." Naruto said, using his Uzugan to scan behind the group.

Hinata launched a handful of senbon at the mist ninja, though they substituted and dodged as Hinata frowned at the bunny that hopped into view, it having been used as the substitution target.

Tazuna sighed in relief, "Geez Hinata, way to scare the crap out of an old man and a bunny rabbit." Tazuna said before taking a swig from his drink.

Hinata turned at the same moment Naruto's eyes spotted it, making Kakashi jolt in realisation before diving forward, "Get down!" Kakashi shouted.

The group dove onto their hands and knees as Kakashi tackled Tazuna out of the way of a massive sword that flew through the area, digging blade-first into a tree ahead of them before a shirtless man appeared standing on it.

The area was quiet before the sound of the man's laughter reached their ears, "Well well, if it isn't the famous Kakashi of the Sharingan, I'm honoured." the man mocked.

Kakashi got to his feet in front of the other three, "Zabuza Momochi, Demon of the Hidden Mist, I really shouldn't be surprised." Kakashi said seriously before glancing over his shoulder, "This man is way out of your league, sorry but I need you to stay back and protect Tazuna, cause-"

"That's enough conversation," Zabuza said as he formed a one handed seal, "Now remember to keep your eyes peeled brats, or I'll just have to peel them for you..." Zabuza said with an eerie chuckled as he disappeared into the thickening mist.

Kakashi took a ready stance as he took out a kunai, "Manji formation around Tazuna." He ordered before the mist enveloped them all.

The gennin took formation as Naruto's Uzugan swirled, 'I can barely make out Sensei from here... but I think I can see a chakra signature in the mist...' Naruto thought as he tried to focus.

Zabuza's chuckle eerily echoed throughout the mist, "I'm a master of the silent killing, I can target any vitals and..." Zabuza paused as his voice trailed off.

There was a tense silence as the group looked through the mist, but they all turned as they suddenly heard Zabuza speak again from inside their formation, "Sneak anywhere I want undetected." Zabuza said as he began to wrench his sword towards Tazuna.

**SPLASH**

Kakashi appeared with his kunai embedded in what was revealed to be just a Water Clone of Zabuza's, "Stay away from my students!" Kakashi ordered as he looked around unknowingly.

Hinata's eyes widened as she leapt forward, "Sensei!" she shouted as her arms moved faster then she even thought she could.

Zabuza appeared from the mist, his sword slashing at the obviously shocked Kakashi, though just before the sword could impact him, Hinata's palms had just hit his arm, making Zabuza disappear once again as he showed he was a Water Clone.

**SPLASH**

Kakashi glanced at Hinata with an eye smile, causing the girl to nod as she saw what was different about his chakra.

Naruto's hand firmly gripped Tazuna's as he pulled him back out of the way of Zabuza's quick approach, "NOT THIS TIME!" Zabuza declared as Kakashi turned only to lose his head.

**SPLASH**

Zabuza's eyes widened, 'He even managed to copy me in this mist?' Zabuza thought in amazement as a kunai rested against his neck, 'Usually my two-layered clone attack is enough, but that damn girl.' Zabuza thought with a sideways glare at Hinata before Kakashi spoke.

"Looks like you lose Zabuza," Kakashi said as he tightened his grip on the kunai he was holding, "Either give up now, or die." Kakashi ordered.

Zabuza chuckled as he closed his eyes in concentration, "How about... no." Zabuza said as he formed his chakra without a hand seal, shocking those in the group as he pulled a substitution with such ease.

"There!" Sasuke shouted as he pointed.

The group looked ahead of them, Kakashi leaping to the front to block the massive sword with his kunai, "You three stay out of this one okay?" Kakashi said as he glanced over his shoulder with an eye smile, "I won't let my comrades die."

The gennin nodded in unison before Kakashi and Zabuza both began to move further into the mist.

Naruto and Sasuke's eyes narrowed as they focussed on the blurry chakra signatures in the mist, barely able to follow them for a few moments before Naruto spoke, "Hinata, can you see anything? Do either of them have an upper hand?" Naruto asked.

Hinata shook her head, "I can, but so far they seem to be somewhat even. Kakashi-sensei just swapped to the offensive and is driving him back." Hinata reported.

Naruto nodded and turned to Sasuke, "Sasuke, how good are you with that burning substitution?" He asked.

Sasuke glanced over at him, noticing his subtle nod towards Tazuna before Sasuke himself nodded and formed two hand seals, "Good enough easily."

Hinata focussed as she watched the fight through the slowly fading mist, "Guys, I think Zabuza is losing focus on this Mist technique the harder he focusses on fighting Kakashi-sensei... but the masked person from before is back, hiding in the trees on the other side of that lake." Hinata explained.

Sasuke frowned as he stepped closer to Tazuna, the two of them within arms reach as Hinata and Naruto stepped forward, "What's the person's focus point?" Naruto asked Hinata.

Hinata focussed to look behind the mask, seeing that although the person's body was facing the three of them and Tazuna, the person's eyes were most definitely following every move Zabuza was making, "It's like... she was ordered to watch us but... as a hunter nin shouldn't she be focusing on him?" she thought out loud.

Naruto frowned in thought before he looked to Hinata, "Tell me the details, things like the person's sex, age and if there's any form of abnormalities in her system." Naruto said.

Hinata nodded, her attention between the battle of two Jonin and the person in the trees, "Seems to be a born hermaphrodite, I'd say within two years of our age. But the thing is her chakra, it's different in the same way ours are from other people, she has a Kekkei Genkai." Hinata explained.

Naruto ran his tongue along his teeth, a habit he had picked up from his mother when he was trying to solve a hard problem, "...a Kekkei Genkai user from the Mist? Either some weird off shot or someone who managed to evade the Bloodline-Raids from the Fourth Mizukage..." he mumbled before his eyes widened, "And Zabuza attacked that Mizukage... maybe he saved her from the raids at some point..." Naruto mumbled.

"I don't see how that's going to help us." Sasuke said, still holding the Tiger seal.

"Shh." Hinata said sternly to Sasuke, keeping her focus on all of their enemies as well as Naruto as the blonde stared into the mist unseeingly.

Sasuke frowned at being shut down, but before he could say anything Naruto spoke up, "What if... that's not a hunter ninja, what if that person is actually with Zabuza?" Naruto theorised.

Hinata nodded, "That makes sense, she was taking notes on us before I made her use the substitution on that rabbit." Hinata explained.

Naruto nodded surely, "Then what we thought was Zabuza's trap... may just be part one of a two-part trap." Naruto theorised.

Sasuke's Sharingan span, having tried to focus on Kakashi and Zabuza at apparently just the right time as he copied a specific Water Jutsu from Zabuza, "Sensei!" Sasuke shouted.

Hinata's Byakugan refocussed and she gasped as the majority of the mist faded away to show Zabuza standing on the lake, moments later, the team stood silent as they realised Kakashi was trapped mid-movement inside of a Water Prison.

Zabuza's dark chuckle echoed up to them as he formed a single handed seal, "Now, be a good little team and run. All I want is the old man, don't make me kill you too." Zabuza said, his words sounding kinder then his tone portrayed.

The trio watched as three Water Clones grew out of the water in silence before Sasuke spoke, "I'll hide Tazuna and be back to help. Can you guys handle this?" he asked.

Hinata and Naruto nodded as the three clones dashed forward, "We've got this Sasuke, but if you time it right you should be able to blind them for us?" Naruto hinted softly as the three clones approached.

Sasuke smirked and nodded, "Then get ready!" he exclaimed as two of the water clones leapt forward towards them while the third followed close behind.

Hinata blinked off her Byakugan as Naruto closed his eyes for a moment, "FIRE STYLE: HIDING IN FLAMES JUTSU!" Sasuke exclaimed before he and Tazuna disappeared in a bright flash of fire.

Hinata and Naruto leapt forward as the Ninjutsu blinded the front two clones, making the third hesitate behind them as Naruto and Hinata closed in.

Naruto's fist destroyed the first clone as Hinata slammed her hands into the second, the two of them splashing into water before Naruto leapt up at the third water clone.

The clone dodged the knee-strike before grabbing Naruto's arm, turning to throw him into Hinata only for Naruto's eyes to help him predict the movement and kick out, forcing the clone to let go of him while Hinata got in close enough to stab her hand straight through the clone's chest.

Zabuza frowned as Sasuke stepped out from the tree line to join his team-mates, "Tazuna is hiding, you see him Hinata?" Sasuke asked.

Hinata nodded, "Yeah, but guys... look at Sensei." she said with obvious concern in her voice.

The trio focussed as they saw Kakashi staring at them intently, unable to move as he tried to somehow get them to run, 'They may be able to take out a few clones, but how many will it take to wear them down?' Kakashi thought in worry over his students.

"Hinata, keep an eye on everyone, Sasuke," Naruto said with a smirk directed towards his friend, "Let's light them up."

Sasuke's answering smirk mirrored Naruto's as he leapt up into the air, making both their obvious and hidden enemy look up at him as he formed hand seals, "UCHIHA FIRE STYLE: GRAND FIREBALL JUTSU!"

Zabuza's eyes widened at the massive fireball coming his way, easily big enough to hit both him and Kakashi even though he knew Kakashi would probably be fine thanks to the Water Prison he was captured in. He raced to form a few single handed seals, making a water clone that took his blade and charged ahead, "HACK-BLADE!" the clone shouted as it slashed the fireball in half, the clone getting destroyed in the process as another caught the blade and continued charging, only for it's eyes to widen as a second, smaller fireball punched a hole through the chest of the clone and continued on it's way towards Zabuza.

The ex mist ninja's eyes widened, 'A second one hiding in the shadow of the first?!' Zabuza thought as he moved as quickly as he could, flipping up to land on top of the water prison to dodge the fireball without removing his arm from the technique.

Naruto and Sasuke appeared at the shoreline, their hands full of kunai and shuriken as they began to pitch as many as they could at Zabuza in unison, their Sharingan and Uzugan working in perfect harmony to maintain a constant barrage that he barely managed to defend agaisnt.

Unseen in the bushes, the Masked Ninja frowned in concern, 'These gennin are far more powerful then we estimated.' she thought in worry before looking back at where the third gennin had previously been, only to scowl as she noticed that Hinata was gone, 'Damn, where did she go?' Haku thought as she looked around for any sign of a Genjutsu or someone approaching Zabuza.

Closing her eyes for a moment, Haku used her training in the Silent Killing to try and hear or sense Hinata, only to realise as a soft thunk sounded right behind her, that it may be too late.

Hinata landed holding a hand seal for one of the few techniques she had learned from Shizune recently, "WATER STYLE: AQUA CUTTER!" she exclaimed as her water chakra formed an elongated blade similar to the chakra scalpel around her hand.

Haku pivoted to parry the strike, managing to do so before Haku plunged a senbon into Hinata's neck.

**POOF**

Haku's eyes widened as Hinata's Shadow Clone dispersed, leaving Haku wide open for the real Hinata as she suddenly appeared from the smoke of her own clone, a second Aqua Cutter in her hand as she stabbed into Haku's shoulder, "AAAHHH!" Haku screamed in surprise and pain.

Zabuza looked up at Haku's scream with wide eyes, "Haku!" he exclaimed, seeing his masked apprentice leap out of the trees with a heavily bleeding and seemingly limp arm.

"Now Naruto!"

Zabuza glared at Sasuke, quickly moving his hand through the air to catch the kunai that was launched at his face, "Stupid fucking Leaf scum!" Zabuza shouted as he moved to throw the kunai right back at Sasuke.

Just as Zabuza put his momentum into the throw, Naruto appeared in a shunshin right next to him Zabuza, surprising Zabuza with the water-walking skill and a single powerful punch to his sternum before he could react considering both arms were occupied, "SOLID GOLD FIST!" Naruto shouted as his punch impacted.

Zabuza's eye widened as he coughed up blood from the punch, flying through the air to stop only after he impacted and uprooted a tree from the force. Zabuza looked over at Haku to see that while Naruto had attacked him and subsequently freed Kakashi, Sasuke and Hinata and taken the fight to Haku, 'Shit! So much for our back-up plan, what the hell kind of gennin are these brats?!' he thought as he tried to get up, only to spasm at the immense pain coming from his numerous broken ribs and nearly shattered sternum.

Zabuza went to pull himself onto his feet when Kakashi appeared by his side, grabbing Zabuza's outstretched arm before placing his palm on Zabuza's bare chest, making the man grunt in pain and cough blood into his bandages, "Well, looks like our little game ends here." Kakashi said seriously.

"SECRET JUTSU: A THOUSAND NEEDLES OF DEATH!"

Kakashi looked up, his eyes widening as he saw Naruto appear in front of Sasuke and Hinata to take a hit directly to the chest from nearly thirty needles of water, "Naruto!" Kakashi exclaimed.

Moving quickly, Zabuza punched Kakashi in the face to force him away, though he ended up falling onto his hands and knees from the effort as he looked up towards his apprentice while forming a quick set of three hand seals.

Haku made eye contact with Zabuza and nodded, feinting a strike at Naruto so that Hinata and Sasuke would step back to his sides defensively, giving her the opening to leap away from them and towards Zabuza.

Kakashi recovered from the hit, lifting Zabuza's blade from it's place in the shallow water before he swung it at Zabuza, the two Mist ninjas joining hands just in time to disappear in a shunshin of their own and dodge the blade that lodged into the tree just a millisecond too late.

The area was quiet for a moment before Hinata and Sasuke moved, the Uchiha towards their Sensei while Hinata began to carefully remove the senbon stabbed shallowly into Naruto's skin and muscles, "Are you okay Nii-kun?" she asked in worry concerned that he was hurt more then he appeared to be letting on.

Naruto nodded with a grunt as she pulled out one from his chest, the wound already beginning to heal as he closed his eyes in concentration, "I will be, just let me rest for a while." he said while panting.

"I agree with Naruto," Kakashi said as Sasuke helped him approach, Kakashi carrying Zabuza's sword over his shoulder as the Mist ninja had been forced to leave it behind, "We'll both be fine after a little rest..." Kakashi said before he suddenly fell unconscious.

Sasuke grunted as he tried to compensate for Kakashi's sudden weight, Kubikiri Bocho lodging itself in the ground as after a moment, Sasuke gave up and just let Kakashi fall on his side unconscious.

Hinata pouted, "He's almost completely out of chakra Sasuke-kun, you shouldn't have dropped him like that." she lectured.

Sasuke sighed and shrugged, "I think the more important matter is getting somewhere defendable." he mumbled with a frown.

Hinata sighed, "Can you go get Tazuna-san? I'll try to finish up here." she said softly as she slowly pulled out another needle of frosted water from Naruto.

The blonde suppressed a shudder as Sasuke walked off, "Hinata, before you continue with me you have to write out a Storage Seal for Zabuza's sword, if we get rid of it now there's no chance he can use it against us later." Naruto said.

Hinata pouted as she stopped helping Naruto, "If you say so...are you sure you'll be okay?" she asked in concern.

Naruto nodded as he raised his arms and formed a single Tiger hand Seal, "Yeah, I've got this. You worry about the sword and Sensei." Naruto said as he moved fire chakra throughout his body, heating himself up to hopefully speed up the melting of the ice senbon so he could just heal himself all at once.

Hinata nodded before turning towards their Sensei, taking off her ninja pouch to take out a pre-prepared storage scroll with all of her things in it so that she could get to work.

Sasuke reappeared with a fear-stricken Tazuna, "Tazuna says his house isn't too far from here now, we should get moving as soon as we can." Sasuke said.

Hinata nodded as she began to write out a Storage Seal on a blank scroll, "Okay, once we're packed up and Naruto has self-healed we can move straight away." Hinata said, earning a serious nod from Sasuke and a nervous one from Tazuna.

Tazuna smiled, obviously still in a little shock, "Y'know, I think I underestimated you kids, you're all kind of super." he said with a slightly hesitant chuckle.

Naruto smiled up at the man as the needles finally began to melt, "Thanks Tazuna-san." he grunted.

##########

"Tazuna! Over here!"

Hearing the hushed voice, Hinata lead the group through the mist down to a beach, Tazuna taking lead as he recognised his friend, "Hey, thanks for making it, I knew I could trust you." Tazuna whispered as he piggy-backed Kakashi for the team, Sasuke being the one to carry Tazuna's bag as well as his own.

The local fisherman nodded, "No worries Tazuna, let's move quick, we can't stay out on the water for too long with Gato's patrols." he said as everyone began to climb into the boat.

Naruto grunted as he almost fell into the boat, 'Even though I healed all the external damage, I think one of them scratched into my rib or something. Damn this hurts.' he thought with a frown as he looked up at Tazuna.

Tazuna lowered Kakashi into the boat as the leaf Jonin grunted and began to wake up, "Hey Kakashi, how are you feeling?" Tazuna asked as the group all settled in.

The fisherman began to row the boat quietly across the water as Kakashi grunted softly and looked around, "We're almost there?" he asked, earning a nod in return, "I'm surprised our back-up hasn't gotten here yet." Kakashi said before lying back down.

Sasuke raised a brow, "Back-up?" he asked.

Kakashi nodded, "After I interrogated that Meizu guy I sent off one of my summons to Hokage-sama telling him about who we ran in to and requesting back-up for a B-rank. Which means either a couple of Chunnin are on their way or a Jonin... unless my request got rejected." Kakashi mumbled with a frown.

The group was silent for a moment before Hinata turned her head, her brows lifting up above her headband in amazement as she looked through the mist, "Tazuna-san... is THAT your bridge?" she asked in a loud voice.

The group shushed her, causing her to blush as Tazuna nodded, "Yeah it is, pretty super huh?" he asked with a grin.

The group nodded as the massive structure came into view, easily the size of Konoha's walls as it stretched out across the water. Though after a moment, Hinata stood on the boat, making everyone freeze for a moment in silence.

"Hinata? What do you see?" Kakashi asked softly.

Hinata smiled, "I see Anko-Sensei, she's up on the bridge looking in our general direction." she said before turning to Kakashi, "Can I go say hi? Maybe she can help us here." Hinata said.

Kakashi chuckled, "I think that's why she is here Hinata, she's probably our back-up," Kakashi said before looking to Naruto, "You go say hi Naruto, use your shunshin to get to her and tell her we'll meet her at the shore. Fill her in on everything alright?" Kakashi ordered.

Hinata pouted and sat down as Naruto sighed and stood, the only evidence he had been hurt previously being the small holes in his shirt with dots of blood on his clothes, "Alright, see you guys soon." Naruto said as he formed a seal and blurred away.

##########

"So let me get this straight," Anko said as the group walked towards Tazuna's house, "Zabuza Momochi and an Ice user disguised as a Hunter ninja is after this old guy over a bridge? Why don't they just destroy the bridge?" she asked logically.

Tazuna paled as he looked at her, "You don't think that's his next plan do you?" Tazuna asked Kakashi.

Kakashi chuckled as he was helped along by Anko, "I doubt it, this Gato guy seems to see you as more of a threat then the bridge. I guess you can always make another one as long as you're around so... he probably doesn't want you around." Kakashi mumbled.

Anko hummed, "And Gato is the one who hired Zabuza right?" she asked, earning a nod in reply, "So basically, we know nothing about the Ice wielder other then what you kids noticed, and Zabuza is out of commission for at least a week with the injuries he got," she said before hoisting Kakashi uncomfortably so that he'd groan, "I reckon it'll take you about the same, why'd ya push your chakra so hard ya idiot?" she asked rhetorically.

Kakashi just sighed before glancing over his shoulder at his gennin, seeing the three of them looking around the Land of Waves with barely hidden sadness, 'They didn't expect all this poverty... I guess it's a reminder of how good we have it in the Leaf.' he thought before sighing again.

"There it is!" Tazuna said with a laugh, "Home sweet home!" he shouted as he began to move faster.

Everyone turned to follow him to the stand-alone house connected back to the island of the Land of Waves via a small wooden bridge. They all were looking forward to some well deserved rest before they were to continue.

##########

"ALRIGHT LET'S GO MOVE! MOVE! MOVE!" Anko shouted to the three gennin after kicking the door to their room open.

Sasuke, Hinata and Naruto woke in shock before they got ready as fast as they could, knowing already that making Anko wait was a bad idea, "What's the rush Sensei?" Hinata asked.

Anko smirked, "Well after a little discussion with Kakashi, I decided I'm going to do a little re-con on this Gato fella, so I need..." she paused as she glanced between the three of them before nodding and pointing to Sasuke and Hinata, "You two." she decided.

Naruto pouted, "Then why did you wake me up?" he asked.

Anko's smirk grew again, "Cause Mr Medical ninja, the only doctor's clinic in this place is long since closed and hundreds are malnourished and/or sick. I can't order you to help them but it's a good way to get the town's people to trust us right?" Anko asked him.

Naruto stood up, seriousness written on his face as he got dressed, "You don't need to order me. I'm going to do the best I can for this village." Naruto promised as he got ready.

"What's our mission?" Sasuke asked.

Anko grinned, "We're going to get as much info as we can about each outpost we find that's not Gato's main hideout and see what we can find out about the organisation as a whole. That's why I specifically want Hinata's eyes and Sasuke's Tigers, did you guys manage the displacement skill?" she asked Sasuke.

The Uchiha smirked confidently, "Yeah. They could do it together already but it's also the first skill they taught me." he bragged.

Anko nodded, "Very good, alright guys, follow me now," she said before looking at Naruto as the boy unsealed the belongings he had brought, clipping on his medic belt in the process, "And you remember to report to Kakashi afterwards, got that Naruto?" she asked.

Naruto nodded, "Hai Sensei. Should I try to help stimulate Kakashi Sensei's chakra coils before I go? It'll speed up his healing process if done correctly." Naruto said.

Anko nodded again as she led Sasuke and Hinata out of the room, "Sounds good to me!" she exclaimed over her shoulder.

Sasuke and Naruto nodded to each other in farewell before Naruto and Hinata shared a smile. They left briskly, leaving Naruto to turn back to his things as he continued getting ready.

"What are you doing?"

Naruto glanced over his shoulder at Tazuna's grandson, the boy peeking around the corner to watch Naruto with a somewhat frustrated look on his face, "And good morning to you to Inari, I'm getting ready to go help some of the locals out. It's the least I can do while we wait for some sign of progress." Naruto said as he clipped on his belt.

Inari scoffed, "Help? Why bother? They're all gonna just die anyway." he said darkly.

Naruto nodded, "Which is something I can stop. If someone is sick, I can heal them. If someone is hungry, I can hunt for food." Naruto said as he stood and dusted off his knees.

Inari frowned as he stepped into the doorway completely, "No you can't! Gato's men guard the forests and rivers, if anyone goes hunting or fishing they'll be killed! And all of the village's doctors disappeared months ago, you will too if you start to help people." Inari said with a sneer.

Naruto watched Inari for a few moments of silence nodding as if in sudden realisation, "I see, you've lost someone close to you because of Gato," Naruto said, hitting a deep chord in Inari that made the boy bristle in rage, "Tell me, do you want more people to feel the same way you do?" Naruto asked.

Inari paused in his quickly rising anger, confused and intrigued by Naruto's words, "N-no... why?" Inari asked.

Naruto knelt in front of Inari so that he could look into his eyes, "I've suffered as well Inari. That's one thing I never want other people I care about to endure. If Gato sends his thugs after me then so be it, but I will never stop helping these people." he said before poking Inari gently in the forehead, making the boy frown as he looked up at Naruto, "You don't have to agree with me, just know that no matter how hard you cry or get angry, nothing you can say will ever make me want to stop helping people." Naruto said with a kind smile before standing up and leaving.

Inari stood in silence for a moment before turning a running after Naruto, pausing at the bottom of the stairs as Naruto closed the front door behind him on his way out, 'Idiot's gonna be killed...' Inari thought as he stood in silence.

Suddenly, Inari ran over to the front door before going outside, looking for Naruto as he tried to follow him.

##########

"SUMMONING JUTSU!"

**POOF**

Sasuke smirked as his black and orange tigers appeared by his sides, his Curse Mark pulsing so that he could handle the chakra drain easily, "Reconnaissance set up. Kuro, come with us, Koru, keep this spot marked until the swap. Okay?" he asked, earning a serious nod from Koru and a lick across the face from Kuro, leaving a line of saliva to ooze down his body, "...Good." Sasuke mumbled as he wiped the muck from his face.

Anko nodded, "Sasuke, drop the Curse Mark now okay? It's too noticeable." Anko ordered.

Sasuke scoffed, "So? With this active it's not like they can do anything about it." Sasuke said, enjoying the power he felt when using the mark.

Anko frowned, "Did I fucking stutter kid? Drop it now." she ordered again.

Sasuke closed his eyes as he crossed is arms, the mark receding easily enough. He opened his Sharingan eyes when the mark was contained once more, glaring up at Anko for a moment.

Anko raised a brow at him, "What's up? You seem a bit ticked off." She asked, making Hinata sigh as she knew that's just how Sasuke was.

Sasuke hopped up onto Kuro's back, "Nothing, I'm fine." he said, ready to get going.

Anko shrugged before looking to Hinata, "Alright, we'll lead with your eyes Hinata, you two circle the island and tell me what ya see." she said as she waved towards Kuro.

Hinata hesitantly climbed onto Kuro's back behind Sasuke, though she was a little off balance, giving Sasuke the opportunity to grab her hand and help her balance, "You good?" Sasuke asked with a smirk to Hinata.

Hinata blushed and looked at their joined hands before sitting up fine by herself, "I-I'm good, thanks." she said with a smile.

Anko looked between the two and face-palmed, 'Crap, I didn't know these two were getting couple-y, I should've brought Naruto.' she thought with a frown, "Oi! Get to it you two, you have an hour so go."

The two gennin nodded before the Kuro dashed off at high speed.

Anko and Koru glanced at each other before Anko reached up hesitantly and scratched it behind the ear gently, "Hey Koru-kun right?" she said with a smile.

The Tiger watched her calmly for a moment before leaning forward and licking her across the face, covering her in saliva just like Sasuke had been moments earlier.

"...Ew..." Anko mumbled as the liquid dripped down her face.

##########

Naruto smiled softly to the small girl that had just fallen over in front of him, 'Not the best actor, not the best trick.' he thought as he knelt to help her.

Just before he reached her, he spun and caught the wrist of a child who could've definitely been the small girl's brother, "Sorry guys, I'm too fast to be mugged. Is there any way I can help though?" Naruto asked.

The children got scared that they were caught in the act and went to run away from Naruto, though he smiled as he moved fast enough to place a ration bar from his pocket into each of their pockets, "Be careful!" Naruto called out.

Naruto was distracted as he noticed an older man coughing as he huddled against a wall. Naruto moved over quickly and knelt, noticing the man was shaking from the cold in his sleep, 'Damn Gato...' Naruto thought as he ran a hand over the man's back, creating a large amount of antibodies in his system to combat the sickness before Naruto looked around, finding a large piece of metal that had previously been from some sort of shopping stall. Naruto used his immense strength to bend the metal loudly, drawing the amazed eyes of many before he stabbed the metal into the wall above the man, making a small shelter for the man that looked up in amazement.

"Th-thank you..." the man mumbled as he woke up, realising that though he was still cold, he wasn't sick any more.

Naruto nodded, "No worries..." he began before looking into the building behind the man, "Is there anyone in that building?" Naruto asked. The old man just shook his head, making Naruto smirk as he cracked his knuckles, "Then I guess it's mine now." Naruto said as he walked over to the door.

The nearby civilians watched as Naruto looked up at the large boarded up door, reading the sign stapled to one of the boards, 'Town Hall closed.' he thought with a frown at the Gato industries logo on the sign, "Not any more." Naruto mumbled as he reared back his fist and punched the doors in.

Naruto walked inside, seeing that although it was dusty and there were a few broken windows, the building was safe, 'Okay... for these people's survival they need food, warmth and something to occupy their thoughts...' he thought before smirking to himself, 'I know just what to do.'

"AH!"

Naruto turned at the feminine shout, dashing out of the Hall to look down the road, seeing a bunch of people retreating from an alleyway just down the road. Naruto took a single leap to land on one of the buildings, looking down at the events in the alley.

Two men with swords and the Gato Industries logo on their shirts were harassing a woman who looked to be too weak to fight back, only able to fall away as one man hit her.

**CRACK**

One man and the victim looked up as the second man fell dead, his head on backwards as Naruto had twisted his neck broken, "Leave now or you're next." Naruto promised.

The man's eyes widened as he grabbed his sword, "Ninja!" he shouted as he slashed at Naruto.

Naruto raised his hand, stopping the sword cold with an invisible Chakra Scalpel before he bitch-slapped the man out of the alley and into public view.

The man began to retreat from Naruto as the blonde stalked after him calmly, the panicking thug grabbed a child, pulling out a small knife and holding it to her throat, "Back off or the kid dies ninja!" he shouted threateningly.

Naruto paused in his steps, "No." Naruto said simply before he appeared in a shunshin within arms reach, one hand wrapped around the knife while the other hand punched the man in the face so hard he flew through a boarded up window of the building behind him.

The civilians stared in shock as Naruto pocketed the knife and looked over all of them, "...If everyone could please spread the word, I've opened up the Town Hall and if you need somewhere warm I will be making a few fire bins in there," Naruto began, causing a mumble to run through the crowd, "Please, I'm a medical ninja, you can trust me." he said to the people.

"Mr?" the little girl he had saved asked as she pulled on the material of his pants, "Can you help my dad?" she asked.

Naruto smiled softly at her, "I can try. Please, take him and those who need help to the hall!" he said loudly, "I will be taking anyone who needs help." Naruto promised before watching the girl jog over to a man down the road and help him begin to limp towards the Town Hall.

After a few moments of silence, the woman from the alleyway hobbled out, being caught by Naruto before he lifted her up bridal style, "Don't worry ma'am, I'll get you inside." Naruto said as he carried her towards the Town Hall.

After coming inside, he placed her gently on the ground before taking off his jacket, rolling it up for her to use as a pillow before he turned to go help others. Naruto paused with a smile as the villagers began to move inside slowly, men, women, children, the young, the old. They all helped each other hobble inside to safety.

Naruto smiled softly, 'Now for some warmth and food.' Naruto thought as he stepped outside again and turned left, 'There's gotta be a place near here where those goons were staying.' Naruto thought as his Uzugan scanned for anything significant.

##########

Inari paused and stepped behind a bin as he watched Naruto step out of the hall and walk away, "What's he doing in there?" Inari mumbled before watching Naruto disappear from view.

Inari ran down the road, looking into the hall only for his eyes to widen as he saw the people inside, "Excuse me?" Inari asked a man that had just begun to climb the steps, "Why are you all coming in here?" Inari asked.

The man smiled, being the same one Naruto had helped just moments earlier, "A young ninja is here to help us, I don't know if he can impact Gato or anything, but he's already made a slight difference," the man said as he hobbled up the last step, "Maybe he can help us change the town for the better again.." the man thought out loud.

Inari looked over in the direction Naruto had gone, 'Naruto... made a difference? He's only been gone from the house for ten minutes...' Inari thought in amazement before running off after him.

##########

"So I said, 'Okay then, if you want it so bad take it from me,' and the idiot actually tried!" one goon said with a laugh to his friend across the table.

The friend nodded with a chuckle of his own, "Yeah, these stupid people, they don't get that power gets money, and money gets their precious food." he said mockingly as he wasted a piece of pizza by throwing it at the wall for fun.

**Knock Knock**

The two men looked over to the lounge room of the house they had taken over, "Hey someone get that would ya?" the first man shouted.

With a groan, a goon who was drinking beer on the couch stood and burped, walking over to the door and opening it, "What do you want kid?" he asked angrily.

Naruto looked up and smiled politely, "Your food supplies, water tanks, medical kits and that table." Naruto said with a point to the table the two men from earlier were sitting at.

The man who answered the door smirked at Naruto as he kneeled to be at the blonde's eye level, "You've got some nerve punk." the man said as he gripped his sword.

Naruto smirked, though he decided to inspire a little fear as he closed his eyes for a moment and 'opened the door' to the Kyuubi's chakra, activating his Curse Seal so that some red chakra came out and his appearance changed, making the man step back in fear, "Well yeah, everyone has nerves, it's thanks to those nerves that this'll hurt." Naruto said as his eyes snapped open, glowing red like the Sharingan before punching the guy square in the face.

The six men inside stared for a moment as their comrade shot out the back window before they turned to the door as Naruto walked in and closed it behind him, "Get the kid!" one man said as he stood, grabbing a crowbar from the floor in front of him.

Naruto smirked as his crimson Uzugan swirled, "Don't worry guys, think of today as a little bit of karma for the 'generosity' you've shown this town." Naruto said confidently.

##########

Inari looked around, 'Where'd he go?' Inari thought curiously before looking behind him.

**SHATTER**

Inari shouted and ducked as two men flew out of the window above him, tied together by their own shirts before Naruto leapt out of the window with a third man in his grip as if he weighed no more then a rag doll, "TAKE THIS!" Naruto shouted as he pile-drived the man face-first into the ground.

Inari stared in amazement as the armoured man grunted in unconscious pain underneath Naruto, the blonde raising a brow at Inari as if it was no big deal, "Hey Inari, you're supposed to stay at the house with Kakashi-sensei." Naruto said.

Inari nodded slowly, staring down at one of the four Generals under the leaders of Gato's main forces, "Th-that's General Kota..." Inari mumbled.

Naruto stood and dusted off himself, "Is that important?" Naruto asked as he calmly walked back towards the house.

Inari continued to stare down at the man, "He's one of them... the ones that killed my dad..." Inari said, doing his best not to cry at the resurfacing memories.

Naruto paused in his walk before turning back to Inari, "Your dad...?" Naruto asked before sighing and nodding, "He stood up to Gato didn't he?" Naruto asked.

Inari nodded before the tears spilled over and he cried. He fell to his knees, continuing to cry next to the unconscious General until he heard Naruto continue to walk.

Inari looked up as Naruto opened the front door to the General's house, letting out forty clones that were each carrying supplies, "Inari, can you help me with this?" Naruto asked, picking up a smaller sized sword and a box full of loaves of bread, "Use this to feed and protect your fellow townsmen, use both arms if you have to," Naruto said with a smile, "You're strong Inari, if I can do it, you can."

Inari stared up at Naruto for a moment as his words sparked a memory of his father, _'If you love something you have to protect it! With both arms!'_ He had said while showing off his scarred forearms. Inari's determination showed on his face as he stood, the tears slowing as he took the items from Naruto proudly, "Hai Naruto!" Inari said before running off with the clones, stopping at the front to lead them back to the Hall.

Naruto smiled as he watched Inari head off before his smile slipped slightly, 'Maybe I should've told him to be careful with that blade...' Naruto thought before shrugging and walking back into the house to look around.

After confirming that all of the supplies were taken along with the weapons and bedding, Naruto left the house with a grin before pausing and turning back, "Just in case..." he thought as he cracked his knuckles preparation, "One way for sure to know that they're never coming back here." he thought out loud as he made a hand seal, "SHADOW CLONE JUTSU!"

The four clones ran inside and began to spew his Poison Fog Jutsu throughout the house and close the windows. Naruto waited until he got the memories back from his clones who were rushing around to fill up the house completely before nodding to himself and forming more hand seals, "FIRE STYLE: FIREBALL JUTSU!" Narutos exclaimed as he spat his Ninjutsu through the door.

The whole building shuddered as the supporting walls exploded, making the building fall in on itself and leave nothing but a broken rooftop on top of a pile of rubble, "Alright, back to the hall." he mumbled before leaving.

##########

Chapter End.

Yoyo!

Happy to be back :) hope to hear from you all soon.

Please R&amp;R, catch ya later


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten: Living in the Land of Waves

Anko tapped her foot impatiently as she looked up at the trees on the other side of the river, 'They should've been back by now, damn gennin moving so slow...' she thought with a frown as she leaned back against Koru the Tiger.

**POOF**

Anko fell in shock as the smoke from around Koru disappeared to show that he had swapped places with Kuro, bringing Sasuke and Hinata back as they hopped down to the ground, "Bout time! Now how many were there?" she asked with a shout.

The two regained their breath as Sasuke's Tigers were sent back to the summon realm, Hinata speaking as the smoke dissipated, "One for each of the old wooden bridges that were knocked down." Hinata said.

"So that makes eleven." Sasuke finished before looking off towards the town.

Anko nodded, "Sounds good, let's go fill in Kakashi..." she began before trailing off as she noticed what Sasuke was looking at, "That's a lot of smoke." she said with a frown.

Hinata lowered her headband to see normally, only now noticing the rising smoke from in town, "That's in the centre of the town..." she mumbled before looking to Anko for help.

Anko hummed, "Alright, Sasuke since you're the fast one I want you to take the scrolls back to Kakashi and tell him something is up, Hinata, with me, we're going to see what's going on."

##########

Arriving at the smoke's source, Hinata frowned as she looked around with her Byakugan, "Anko-Sensei, Naruto-kun's chakra was active here, and he's got a large group of people in a building a few blocks away." Hinata reported.

Anko sighed, "Well, let's go see what he's up to." Anko said as she gestured for Hinata to lead the way.

They dashed down the street, the two of them sharing a glance as they noticed the badly hidden thug watching them move to the town hall.

Just as they got to the open doorway, an elderly man hobbled through ahead of them, being caught by two clones of Naruto before he hit the floor, "You'll be okay now, let's get you somewhere warm." one of them said as they lead the man inside.

Anko smirked at the action as the blonde was so focussed on his 'patients' that he didn't even spare them a glance, 'Good in the office, not in a threatening environment.' she thought as she walked inside.

Glancing around, the two noticed Naruto had a large steel bin in the corner of the room, filled with a hot fire and underneath the hole in the roof to let the smoke out. Most of the people were in the half of the hall closer to the fire while some were laying on the small stage where the real Naruto was, using his medical Ninjutsu to help a one-legged man's wound fight an infection and heal over for the first time in months.

"He's done well." Anko said with a smirk as she looked around the hall. After a moment of silence she turned to Hinata only to see she was already by the real Naruto, helping him close the wound as best she could, "Guess it runs in the team..." she mumbled before forming a hand seal.

**POOF**

A clone of Anko popped into existence and turned to leave, dashing off to tell Kakashi the news as she moved to Naruto and Hinata, "Guys, although it's nice you've done this, it's also a big marker for where all of Gato's enemies and victims are as well as easy to get in to since you're just letting everyone in." she said as she stood in front of the stage and looked up at them.

Naruto and Hinata finished their work before Naruto began to put a wet hand towel on the man's forehead, "It's also the quickest way to not only lure out Gato's weak subordinates, but also heal all of those that I can in the shortest time." Naruto said as he placed a hand on the man's chest for a moment and stepping away, moving over to the elderly man his two clones had brought in earlier.

Anko walked parallel to him as Hinata caught up to them, "You're not gonna stop are you." she said with a sigh.

Naruto finally looked up at her as he looked over the man's swollen wrist and sore arm before glancing at his red and surprisingly happy face, "Hello, I'm Naruto, your hand and wrist and probably your forearm is broken and you look very sick. Why are you smiling?" Naruto asked.

The old man's smile grew, "Because, finally we have someone, who can actually make a difference." the man said between deep breaths, looking at Naruto with a tired but cheerful smile.

Naruto smiled at that, "I'm glad too then, can't blame you for that," Naruto said as he got to work, analysing the arm for a few moments before sighing, forming hand seals again as he began to speak, "I'm going to relieve the pain, can you lean forward?" Naruto asked as he held his green glowing hands out.

The man nodded before putting himself in Naruto's grasp, instantly falling into a deep sleep so that Naruto could work.

"Why'd you do that?" Anko asked with a raised brow.

Naruto frowned before looking between her and Hinata, "... I have to re-break his arm in maybe three places and then set the bones again, I don't think he wants to be conscious for that." Naruto said.

Hinata frowned, "Ew." she said simply.

Naruto chuckled and nodded as he gripped, "Basically yeah..." he aid as he tightened his grip.

Anko looked away, "Nup, not watching this."

##########

Kakashi sighed as he stood from the couch shakily, but on his own feet thanks to Naruto's medical techniques, "So let me get this straight, he's probably taken down one of Gato's bases in the town and begun to organise the Town Hall as a home for everyone?" Kakashi asked Anko's clone.

"Yep," she said with a nod before looking to Sasuke, "And this one has the locations of all the other... eleven wasn't it?" she asked.

Sasuke nodded, "Yeah. One base for each of the old smaller bridges to other fishing isles, Hinata estimated there was only about ten of Gato's men in each building." Sasuke explained.

Kakashi nodded, "Then that settles it, Anko I want you permanently stationed here with Tazuna, Tsunami and Inari. The gennin and I are going to set up in this safe house of Naruto's. Every day we'll meet up a few times to keep in check while I train the gennin while we work." Kakashi said.

Anko sighed and shrugged, "But what about these other Bases? We're attacking right?" she asked.

Kakashi nodded, "That will be our nightly missions, and I think you'll have to lead them considering I shouldn't be using chakra yet," Kakashi said as he walked towards the door, "Anko, don't disperse until the real you is here, Sasuke, let's go." Kakashi said as he opened the door.

The clone watched Kakashi and Sasuke leave before sighing, 'Oh man, now I'm stuck with this old drunk...' she thought before glancing over to the kitchen area, seeing Tsunami was cooking, '… well at least there's good food.' she thought as she sat down on the couch.

##########

_Hours later, sundown._

##########

"_Alright, if what you guys say is true, this first one should be easy for you," _Anko's voice echoed into their earpieces, _"You in position kiddies?"_

Hinata nodded, "Hai Anko-Sensei, Sasuke, Naruto, ready when you are." she said as she looked down at the open field surrounding the tower from her tree.

""Three,"" Naruto and Sasuke began to count down, ""Two, One, Go!"" they shouted before dashing forward towards the tower, red and blue swirling eyes glowing in the early night's sky.

Sasuke leapt forward, revealing two large tiger-themed gauntlets on his arms as he channelled his fire chakra into the yellow gauntlet on his right arm, "FIRE PUNCH!" Sasuke shouted as he aimed for the only outside guard.

The thug barely registered the threat before it slammed into his chest, launching him back into the wall above the door, clearing the way for Naruto to get to the barricaded door, "SOLID GOLD FIST!" Naruto shouted as his chakra wrapped fist slammed into the door.

**BOOM**

The two ran in as the four people in the bottom room scrambled to grab their weapons, though everyone began to run downstairs from the upper levels as Hinata saw her opening thanks to the second storeys open window. She leapt forward, diving through the window as she lashed out at the only thug who saw her, jabbing his throat before grabbing his arms and rolling back, kicking him out the window before she ran at the staircase, seeing Naruto and Sasuke where about to be done with their part.

The two thugs on her floor ran after her before the floor beneath them exploded thanks to Naruto's fist, clearing the way for Sasuke to leap up behind him, the two of them back to back as they formed hand seals, "NINJA ART: POISON FOG JUTSU!" Naruto exclaimed as he filled the remaining level with poison gas.

Sasuke stayed back to back with Naruto as they turned through the air, "FIRE STYLE: PHOENIX FLOWER JUTSU!" Sasuke exclaimed.

The two landed upside down on the ceiling as the room exploded in flames below them, the two beginning to cough as Sasuke looked at Naruto, "Any time would be great!" Sasuke exclaimed.

Naruto nodded as he knelt on the ceiling, punching through it so that the two could leap up to the third and final floor, Naruto spun as his Uzugan let him see quickly the three thugs, one of which Hinata was about to attack, "Hey Sasuke!" Naruto shouted as he extended his arm.

Sasuke smirked as he reached out as well, the two of them locking hands as Naruto span and threw Sasuke at the furthest thug feet first, "Ha!" Sasuke shouted as he kicked the man in the face and sternum, using his body like a skateboard as they slid into the wall, Sasuke crushing the thug's head between him and the wall.

The thug Hinata was fighting looked up in shock at the bloody display, giving her the opening to leap at him and slam her hands into the man's chest, paralysing his lungs as he fell to the ground in useless shock.

Naruto clapped his hands together in a seal with a concentrated expression, disappearing in a shunshin to land fist-first on the last thug, launching him out the window.

The trio regrouped around Hinata as they looked down at the convulsing thug she had hit, "Anyone else?" Naruto asked Hinata.

The girl shook her head, "Nope, we did it just as easily as Anko-sensei said it'd be." she said with a slight smirk.

Sasuke nodded, raising a hand to the button on his earpiece, "We're ready for the last stage." Sasuke said.

"_Good work kiddies, now Hinata show Sasuke the way to the basement and the two of you seal up everything in those scrolls Kakashi had you write out, and um, didn't you say there was like, an office or something? Send Naruto in there." _Anko asked through the headpiece.

Hinata nodded and pointed towards the only door on the top floor, "Through there connects to the balcony and the office, there's a safe in the desk." she said.

Naruto nodded and clicked his earpiece as Hinata and Sasuke went downstairs, "Orders received, on my way to check the office."

"_Nice, see you kiddies in ten then. Finish it off with a bang." _

The three gennin smirked and nodded as they split up, Naruto going to the office door before grasping the handle and turning it hard enough to snap the lock off on the inside.

"Die!"

Naruto's eyes widened as he stepped back, a spear stabbing through the open doorway and nearly getting him. He turned and grabbed the shaft, pulling it from the man's grip and kicking him in the face, throwing him across the room and out the window.

Naruto sighed as he dropped the spear and walked inside, 'I wonder how Hinata missed that guy...' Naruto thought as he walked around to the desk, grabbing everything on it and forcing the items either into the desk draws or the cabinet next to it.

Naruto quickly took out a sealing scroll and got to work, aiming to empty out the office as soon as possible.

##########

"Welcome back guys," Anko said as the trio landed in front of her in a high up tree, looking over the first tower they had infiltrated, "Ready when you are for the finale." She said with a smirk.

The trio nodded before Hinata turned with her Byakugan active, taking aim over the massive distance before she held her hand out to Sasuke, the Uchiha having wrapped a kunai with an explosive note for her, "Are your clones done Naruto?" she asked.

Naruto smirked and nodded, "Yep, all up to you now." he said.

Hinata nodded as she took Sasuke's kunai and aimed up through the sky before throwing, the kunai disappearing into the distance before a shine glinted off the top of the building as it impacted, "Any second now..." Hinata mumbled.

**BOOM**

The group watched as an explosion occurred at the top of the tower before it seemed to explode with a downward force, making the tower fall down into itself before the bottom floor exploded outwards.

"Nice!" Anko exclaimed as she used her telescope to look around the destroyed building's remains, "Since we now know that works, tomorrow night we're going to do two, but we won't be setting them up to explode until the end though so that we can do it together." she explained as she put her scope away.

The trio of gennin nodded again as Naruto frowned, 'If what I suspect is true, then on the third night we'll be pushed hard... it wouldn't surprise me if we're given a tower each by then.' he thought as Anko began to lead them away back towards the Land of Waves.

##########

"So all was successful then?" Kakashi asked as the three gennin sat across the small fire from him.

Their small guarding post was above the town hall, using a flattened part of the roof to set up a small outlook so that they could see in all directions around the hall. After going back to Tazuna's and helping Anko set up for the night, Team 7 came back to the Town Hall to explain the situation to Kakashi.

Sasuke nodded, "The first tower was taken easily. Tomorrow Anko-Sensei wants us to split in two groups and do a tower each." he said.

Kakashi frowned, "Well... if it was that simple then I guess it's okay... but you guys be careful alright?"

The trio nodded and Kakashi eye smiled, "Good, now I have set up jobs for some of the people who wanted to help, they'll be taking turns throughout the night looking out the windows while one of us is awake up here keeping watch as well. Tomorrow while Anko is keeping watch of Tazuna, she should be doing the plans ready for tomorrow night's attack so in the meantime I will be training you in this area around the village while we look after these folk." Kakashi reported, "Sasuke, Hinata, you two head to bed. Naruto will have first watch tonight and he'll wake you in three hours Hinata." Kakashi ordered.

The group quietly moved to their place as per Kakashi's orders, Naruto sitting next to Kakashi on the lookout as Sasuke and Hinata went to the other side of the roof for some quiet and distance from the fire light.

Kakashi waited until the two were quiet before he turned to Naruto, "Naruto, I'm afraid Anko and I have deceived you about one little detail for tomorrow night." Kakashi said quietly.

Naruto raised a brow, "Huh? What do you mean?" he asked.

Kakashi eye smiled, "We're both very confident in your strength and want to see just how far ahead of the standard gennin you are. Tomorrow night, Anko will guide you to a very specific tower, one of the three with low level ninjas in them – and I do mean low level – and though she will supervise you, she will be watching you take care of the tower by yourself and she wants you to get information about Gato's strongest fighters from the ninja before taking him out and destroying the tower yourself." Kakashi explained.

Naruto nodded surely, "Alright, what about Sasuke and Hinata?" Naruto asked.

Kakashi eye smiled, "Anko will have both towers in sight so if anything goes wrong she'll inform you and go to their aid. She's doing this for the next two nights with you and then Sasuke and then she's having Hinata help her with the other base in town..." he explained before pausing in thought, "Actually... maybe I should have her do that before Sasuke and Hinata, that way the immediate threat will be pushed out of town."

"Which would probably motivate Gato to push his main forces through the village to reign in fear. We may be able to survive and maybe even win, but there is no way we can do that without putting all of the people here in danger." Naruto said with a frown.

Kakashi blinked before nodding, "True, this is why we discuss things." Kakashi said seriously.

Naruto sighed at his Sensei before his brow furrowed and he looked back at him, "Hold on, doing it a few days later won't make a difference..." he said before Kakashi eye smiled at him, making Naruto's eyes widen in realisation, "That's why we're specifically targeting this tower tomorrow isn't it? This ninja I'm after is someone important?" Naruto asked.

Kakashi nodded, "Got it in one, there's not much we do know but it makes sense that the only ninja – the only person of Gato's to move to every tower and always under guard – is the one Gato has as his second in command or at least in his upper ranks." Kakashi explained.

Naruto nodded, "Logical, but it's also likely that he's just another hired ninja like Zabuza and the Demon Brothers." Naruto suggested.

Kakashi hummed in thought, "Definitely possible, only one way to find out though isn't there?" Kakashi asked rhetorically.

Naruto grinned, "Just a little talk should do enough, Kaa-san taught me a lot about healing," he said with a chuckle as he cracked his knuckles, "Which means I know just what wounds to inflict to help motivate him." Naruto said.

Kakashi eye smiled, "Naruto, I'm glad to have you on my team. It may seem like a lot of pressure to put on you, but you're clearly the strongest and smartest of the group, I want you, to make your own decisions on this mission just like with the shelter."

Naruto raised a brow, "So... I'm like, basically a Chunnin?" Naruto asked.

Kakashi shrugged, "Not really, I'm just saying that while Anko isn't here and it doesn't interfere with orders, take your own path. I can see it in you just like I once saw it in my Sensei," Kakashi said before eye smiling at Naruto again, "A true sense of right and wrong, and a Will of Fire ready to back it up." Kakashi said.

Naruto swelled with pride as he grinned and looked off into the distance again, keen on keeping watch to the best of his ability for his turn.

##########

"The night's over," Sasuke's voice rang out, "Time to get up and it looks like it's nearly time to go."

Naruto crawled out of his little alcove and got out of his sleeping bag as he glanced to his left, seeing Hinata and sharing a smile with her before the two of them looked over to Sasuke.

The Uchiha clicked his Tiger Gauntlets into place over his arms, "Sensei is waiting for us downstairs, apparently we're learning something new today." Sasuke explained.

Hinata nodded and jumped to her feet, "Alright!" she exclaimed before quickly grabbing her things to get changed.

Naruto merely took off his Senju Clan cloak and rolled it up, placing it on top of his bag and stretching out his muscular shoulders and arms, "Sounds like it's about damn time." Naruto mumbled with a smirk, happily to finally be learning something new.

##########

"Sensei," Naruto began with a frown directed towards their Sensei, "I already know how to do that."

Kakashi blinked as he turned back to them, the three gennin watching him water-walk from the base of the bridge Tazuna was working on out onto the river, "Really? I find that hard to believe." Kakashi said.

Naruto sighed and casually stepped out onto the water, "This is a really kinda basic chakra exercise, and if you'll remember I already did use it in front of you when we fought Zabuza. Mom made me learn literally every chakra exercise she knew so that I'd have perfect enough control for her Herculean Strength techniques." Naruto explained.

"Umm Sensei?" Hinata began as she focussed her chakra before stepping onto the water, "I learned this one as well back when I was in the Hyuuga Clan, this is the bare minimum of the level of chakra control needed to perform the Gentle Fist techniques."

Kakashi eye smiled, "Very good." he said before turning to Sasuke.

The Uchiha stepped onto the water slowly, his Sharingan staring down at Naruto's feet as the blonde jogged over to him to give him a better view, "You got it?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke waited a few more seconds before nodding, having successfully copied the skill from Naruto before he smirked up at the blonde, "Yep, thanks Naruto," Sasuke said before looking to Kakashi, not noticing Naruto's jaw drop over Sasuke actually thanking him for something, "Looks like we're done here Sensei, what's next?"

Kakashi blinked owlishly at them, "Umm... well... you three... go look after Tazuna for an hour or so." Kakashi said as he began walking down river.

Hinata frowned, "What?! Sensei! Just cause we know it already doesn't mean you can't teach us something new!" Hinata exclaimed after him.

Kakashi paused and glanced over his shoulder at them, "Hmm... I guess you're right..." he mumbled before turning to walk away again, "I'll go check with Anko and see if there's anything in particular she can think of." he said as he walked off.

The trio of gennin shared a disappointed look before Naruto pointed up towards the bridge, "Well, we better go keep watch... maybe we can help a little with the building." he said with a grin before they began to use the tree-climbing technique to scale the large bridge.

##########

Kakashi arrived at the Town Hall within twenty minutes, smiling first to Tsunami and a few of the other women who had started getting together the little food they had to make warm soup for everyone near the back of the hall, 'Looks like everything is going well here.' he thought before looking over to Anko's watching position.

Anko waved to him from her place up on the main stage, sitting atop podium at the back so that she could see everything inside, though to Kakashi's surprise, Inari was sitting next to her with one of her smaller snakes, talking to it and petting it like... well, a pet.

Kakashi eye smiled as he arrived near them, "Hello you two, all going good here Anko?" he asked.

Anko nodded and yawned, "Yeah I'm doin good, there was a little trouble the moment I got here though, something you guys overlooked." Anko said.

Kakashi raised an eyebrow, "Really? And what was it that we missed?" he asked.

Anko hit the podium and out fell a tied up raggedy dressed man, "This guy isn't really homeless, no one knows him, he had a concealed weapon and he had taken notes on how many people were here and how many of us ninja were here. If this guy got away then Gato would find out you got me as back-up." Anko explained.

Kakashi glared down at the man who began to sweat and mumble from behind his gag, "...I'll take care of him, also before you sleep, would you mind doing a little brainstorming on something I could teach the gennin?" Kakashi asked as he grabbed the man's ankle and dragged him out into the open completely.

Anko chuckled, "Sure, last time turned out awesome. Does that mean they know the water walking now?" she asked.

Kakashi nodded, "Yep, Naruto and Hinata knew how to already and Sasuke learned it by copying his team, which they wanted him to do so... teamwork yayyy." he said weakly with an eye smile.

Anko frowned at Kakashi for a moment, "Right... are you sure you're okay to be up and about? I thought Naruto said for you to take it easy."

Kakashi chuckled as he turned away, "Yeah I know, but remember this is only day two, Zabuza won't be up and in action for a week so after we sort out things today, I'm going to be taking it easy." Kakashi said as he began to drag the captive man away.

Anko nodded before reaching down behind her, "Hey Scarecrow!" she shouted as she threw the scroll she had grabbed at him. Kakashi turned just in time to catch the scroll, raising a brow questioningly at her, "It's the plans for tonight's attack. Take a look over them and then inform the kids if they're good yeah?" she said with a grin.

Kakashi nodded, "That makes things easy, great work Anko." Kakashi said before walking down the stairs and dragging the man after him, taking him away for interrogation of his own.

Anko's grin stayed in placed before she turned back to Inari and frowning, "So tell me straight kid, I know this will be a hard topic and I know I could probably find a better way to ask this but..." Anko said, making Inari sweat.

"Wh-what is it Anko-nee?"Inari asked with a slightly scared expression.

Anko sighed and placed a hand on his shoulder, "There's no reason to be afraid, I just wanted to know... where's your father?"

##########

_hours later..._

##########

Naruto grunted as he lowered the large piece of rock into place, "This... good?" he asked Tazuna between grunts.

Tazuna nodded with a wide grin, many of his workers staring at Naruto in awe at the move which would save them about three hours of work as a team, "It's perfect! Just lower it down right there!" Tazuna exclaimed.

Naruto did so slowly, placing it down with a rumble throughout the bridge, "Oh man." Naruto gasped before falling back and laying down.

The men on the bridge cheered as Hinata and Sasuke came up to Naruto, "Are you okay Nii-san?" Hinata asked as she knelt by his side.

Sasuke chuckled as Naruto managed to nod, "You're such a show off Senju." Sasuke said with a shake of his head.

"Woah!"

The trio turned in unison towards the shout of shock, one of the workers who was admiring Naruto's handiwork overbalanced the stone before they could place in the supports in the bridge, making the stone begin to tilt and the man fall over the edge, dragging another man with him as they both grappled for something to hold on to.

Naruto leapt forward and dug his hands into the stone, damaging it but pulling it back into place, "Sasuke! Hinata! Quickly!" he shouted.

Sasuke and Hinata quickly leapt forward, diving down through the air after the two falling man, Sasuke leading with his black tiger gauntlet, "BOOST!" Sasuke shouted.

The tiger's mouth opened up and seemed to suck in the air around it, propelling him forward at high speed, so that he could grip the man's wrist and use chakra through his feet to grip the wall.

Hinata made a pair of Shadow Clones and spread her arms wide, letting her clones stand on her arms and leap forward, pushing Hinata back up as one clone pushed the falling man towards the wall for the second one to grab and grip just like Sasuke had.

The two slowly slid down the wall, lowering the two men safely onto the pillar's base as Naruto looked down from above, "You guys okay?" he asked after them as Tazuna's head appeared as well.

The group nodded as Tazuna gestured around the side, "Just come back up so we can finish this okay? We don't want anyone else to fall." Tazuna said before going back to his drinking.

Naruto sighed, "I'll meet you at the ladder guys, we gotta keep watch for Kakashi-sensei or Anko-sensei." Naruto said before retreating.

Sasuke and Hinata nodded before one of the two men suddenly threw up and the other one fainted, causing Hinata to frown, "Ew." she mumbled.

Sasuke sighed and nodded, "I'll go get Naruto and send him down here to-"

"I knew it," a Naruto Clone said as it dropped down next to them, "I mean, the boss knew it, but either way, you two need to figure out a way to carry people without relying on him so much." the clone said as it threw the unconscious man over his shoulder and helped the other one to the ladder.

Hinata shrugged and just used her chakra to walk up alongside the man just in case as Sasuke sighed before doing the same on the other side of him.

As they returned to the bridge once more, the workers began to get started again as Naruto stood at attention near the back, waving off another group of Shadow Clones to go help Tazuna before turning to Sasuke and Hinata, "I think sensei's nearby, Hinata?" Naruto asked.

The girl nodded, "He's on his way here Nii-san, just around the corner." Hinata said with a smile.

Naruto nodded before turning to Sasuke, their Uzugan and Sharingan eyes locking for a moment as they shared a smirk of confidence, "Reckon he'll have something new?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto nodded, "I hope so." he said as the three of them waited side by side for a few minutes for Kakashi.

The limping Jonin came into view soon enough, waving two scrolls in the air above his head on approach, "Hey guys, how's the day been?" he asked.

Naruto looked to Sasuke as the Uchiha sighed, "Kinda boring. We've been able to help a little though, so that's something." Sasuke grumbled.

Kakashi nodded as he sat down, "Alright, well as you guys know you'll be splitting up for tonight's two towers, these are the plans Anko laid out for each of you." Kakashi said as he tossed the two scrolls into the air.

Sasuke snatched one out of the air as Naruto fumbled the other before catching it with a grin, "Does this mean we should get started?" Naruto asked.

Kakashi shook his head, "Nope, you guys have some training to set up for first, once the plan for the rest of your training while we're here is sorted, then you can get started with studying your missions for the night." Kakashi explained.

Hinata tilted her head in thought, "You mean you actually were leaving to sort out our training?" she asked in surprise, thinking he had once again just disappeared for a while.

Kakashi chuckled as he nodded, "Yeah yeah, it's not that surprising," he said to the group before eye smiling to Hinata, "And besides, your training will actually be with Anko. Sasuke, Naruto, we're going to have a little information session about the Sharingan and it's multitude of uses." Kakashi explained.

The trio nodded before Hinata went to step away, "So... like, right now?" she asked.

Kakashi nodded, "Yep, Anko's waiting at the Town Hall and your training will be on the rooftop to simultaneously keep watch." Kakashi explained.

Hinata beamed at the opportunity to train in something new – and finally a chance to finish her secret Taijutsu training from Shizune – before dashing off, waving over her shoulder, "Cya later guys! Sasuke-kun! Find me when you want to go over our plans!" she exclaimed.

Sasuke frowned as she ran off, "She can't order me around like that..." he mumbled.

"I think she kinda just did," Naruto said with a chuckle, "And knowing the fact that she IS the scout on our team, I'm willing to bet the initial part of your plan needs her right?" Naruto theorised.

Sasuke's frown increased before he unrolled his mission scroll for that night, Kakashi chuckling in the background as Sasuke sighed, "Yeah, I need her." he mumbled with a frown.

"It's nice that you and Hinata are getting closer Sasuke, but first things first," Kakashi interjected, causing Sasuke to blush faintly and scowl, "Naruto, you're going to accompany me to a place just downriver so I can set up your training for the next few hours. Sasuke, we're going to be using Tazuna's back yard for your training." Kakashi said as he walked towards the edge of the bridge and dropped down next to the ladder, holding the side of it and sliding down slowly as Naruto and Sasuke quickly followed.

"So... what if I need a bit of assistance or something? And what exactly am I training in?" Naruto asked curiously as he jogged down the wall after Kakashi.

Sasuke followed along as Kakashi eye smiled, "I'll explain while we're on the way, Sasuke, can you go ahead to Tazuna's house and summon the Tiger that gave you those gauntlets and get them ready to explain their complete functions to the both of us so I can help you learn." Kakashi explained.

Sasuke shrugged, "Alright, catch ya later Naruto." Sasuke said before forming a hand seal and disappearing in a flash of fire.

Naruto chuckled, "He's become a bit of a show off hasn't he?" Naruto asked Kakashi as the two reached the river and began to walk down it.

Kakashi chuckled, "A bit yes, but I have asked him to practice with that every chance he gets. With a bit of practice he'll be able to spark it as easily as a normal substitution." Kakashi explained.

Naruto nodded as he followed Kakashi down river, after a few minutes of running, the old fishing wharf near Tazuna's house became visible in the distance. Kakashi turned to the opposite side of the river, walking up onto a small beach before they stopped in a smallish clearing.

"So... what's the plan Sensei?" Naruto asked.

Kakashi eye smiled, "Well Naruto, your mother has given me some information which I find to be very intriguing," Kakashi said, "You had access to the Mangekyou Sharingan before your little scuffle with Mizuki, so I was wondering what happened to that now?" Kakashi asked.

Naruto raised a brow before closing his eyes, opening them as the tomoe began to spin before they swirled into a blue and black version of Shisui Uchiha's Mangekyou Sharingan. Kakashi was about to speak up when they continued spinning, a single extra black ring forming around the design of the Mangekyou in his eyes, "This is my Mangekyou Uzugan!" Naruto exclaimed.

Kakashi nodded, 'I used to work with Shisui, his Mangekyou didn't have that line around it... and obviously the colour difference... I wonder if that'll change anything.' Kakashi wondered before eye smiling at Naruto, "Very good, can you use any of the techniques yet?" Kakashi asked.

Naruto's smile faded slightly, "I... I think so? I mean, I have the memory of how to do it when my eyes get to this stage, but I haven't actually done it yet." Naruto said.

Kakashi nodded, "Well then... I guess it's time you try." Kakashi said before turning and walking away.

Naruto watched Kakashi leave as if in slow motion with his eyes, 'Well... I guess I don't have a reason not too...' he thought before thinking hard about the one Shisui had used the most, then again, he had only used it eight times.

Naruto took a deep breath as he as he took a wide stance, clapping his hands together in focus as his eyes swirled, "Come on!" Naruto exclaimed.

Kakashi paused as he got to the rise between the river and Tazuna's house glancing over his shoulder as he felt Naruto's chakra surge, 'No way...' Kakashi thought as his eye widened before he lifted his headband to watch with his Sharingan.

Naruto took deep slow breathes before his chakra pulsed out around his left side, forming three large ribs made of chakra to form a shield around his left side. Naruto grinned, "This is it! SUSANO'O!" Naruto shouted as an arm formed from the ribcage which finally had it's fourth and last rib attached to a half-made spine behind him.

Naruto grinned as he stabilised the technique, lifting his arm and having the chakra arm do the same, grabbing a tree and ripping it from the ground into the air, Naruto held it up before moving his arm by itself and forming hand seals, "FIRE STYLE: HALO FLAME!" Naruto shouted as he spat out a ring of fire into the raised tree, lighting it up before Naruto smirked and dropped it onto the ground in front of him.

Naruto smirked and deactivated the just before falling to his knees and panting, "Hehehe, ah, this is awesome." Naruto said with a chuckle of disbelief as he fell onto his back and just lay down to rest for a while.

Kakashi stared wide eyed at two things, one, Naruto's obvious use of the Mangekyou, and two, Kakashi's own eye had morphed when it copied the display, showing Kakashi everything that happened in even more detail and trying to copy the skill.

Kakashi closed his eyes and moved his headband back in place, 'That was incredible..' he thought as he shook his head before turning back to go find Sasuke.

Naruto stopped chuckling to himself and smirked before sitting up, "Alright... what else..." Naruto thought as he activated his Mangekyou again before pausing, 'Hold on...' he thought before looking up towards the sky, 'Shouldn't my eyes be hurting or something by now? It's supposed to do a little damage every time...' he thought before deactivating his dojutsu back to it's basic form.

Naruto sat in contemplative thought for a moment before forming a hand seal, making three Shadow Clones before he lay back, "You, analyse my eyes in each form before I test out the next Mangekyou technique. Then afterwards we'll analyse them again to see if there has been any change," Naruto said before looking to the other two, "You guys... do you reckon there'll be a stray animal around here or something?" he asked.

The clones shrugged before dashing off towards the town to see what they could find as Naruto sighed and relaxed, his clone forming hand seals to start it's analysis.

##########

Sasuke's Curse Mark receded as a surprisingly small tiger sat in front of him, "So, ready to finally find out more about them aye?" the tiger asked.

Kakashi jogged in at this time, "Yes he is, you have that one which gives him fire," Kakashi said as he pointed to the orange gauntlet, "And that one which gives him... a speed boost?" Kakashi asked.

The tiger seemed to frown at Kakashi, "I see, you are the Cyclops Jonin," he said as he looked up at Kakashi, "Well it's about damn time ya old coot." the tiger exclaimed.

Kakashi sweat dropped as Sasuke chuckled, "Kakashi-Sensei, this is, umm," he sighed before saying the name, "D-Claw..."

Kakashi blinked, "His name is dee claw?" he asked.

Sasuke shook his head, "No, it's pronounced 'Da Claw.'" he said with a frown, "This is D-Claw Sensei." Sasuke said as if it was causing him physical pain.

Kakashi eye smiled as the tiger gave him a thumbs up, "Well... it's good to meet you D-Claw," Kakashi said before turning to Sasuke, "Now, how about we get started with his gauntlets?"

##########

"That's a pretty good style Hinata," Anko said as the two sparred on the rooftop, "But you're not much good on the attack, what if I just attacked you from behind?" she asked before disappearing in a plume of smoke.

Hinata spun, kicking out and surprising Anko by blocking the attack from behind, "I will see you coming." Hinata said with a smirk.

**POOF**

Hinata leapt up as a few kunai moved through the area, dodging the real Anko's attack before pulling out a senbon and spinning, blocking Anko's own senbon.

Anko raised a brow and paused, "You use senbon too? Cool." she said with a grin.

Hinata tilted her head curiously, "Shizune-sensei taught me how, is that important?" she asked.

Anko nodded and stepped back before revealing a handful of senbon, apparently she was able to unseal them from her coat's sleeves instantly, "Tell me, what do you know about about the body's pressure points?" she asked with a grin.

Hinata smiled, "They're all throughout the body, that's what I aim for when punching if I can't get their chakra network first." Hinata explained.

Anko's grin grew even more, "Awesome! I guess now is as good a time as any!" she exclaimed as she dropped the senbon into the rooftop below them before turning and walking over to the stuff she had brought with her to the Land of Waves.

Hinata finally dropped her Wing Chun stance and sighed in tired relief, "Sensei?" she asked curiously as Anko came back waving a scroll.

Unrolling it, Anko unsealed two items, the first of which she held up happily, "I found my old coat from my Chunnin days! And it's all for you!" she exclaimed as she offered it to Hinata.

The ex-Hyuuga stared for a moment as her smile grew, "Thanks Sensei!" she exclaimed as she took off her hoodie, leaving her in only a light purple v-neck shirt that showed off her midriff. She put on the cloak and shivered at it's cold reptilian material, though thanks to her eyes, she could see the five seals on the cloak, "What do the seals do Sensei?" she asked.

Anko grinned even wider, "The one at the centre of your back is the Temperature Regulation Seal that I showed you from this one, give it a try." she said.

Hinata nodded and focussed on sending her chakra to her back, she ran it up her spine and waited until she felt the slight pull from the seal, sending her chakra into it and feeling her new trench coat warm up to the perfect temperature, "Ooh, this is great." she said with a grin similar to Anko's.

Anko chuckled, "Yeah it is! Now, check the seals inside your sleeve, they're the Quick-Draw Seals you would've learnt to activate back at the academy." Anko explained.

Hinata nodded and sent chakra to her wrist. She rolled her hand, the chakra unsealing three senbon into her hand in the simple movement with the smoke being hidden inside her clothes, "Automated Senbon..." Hinata mumbled in awe.

Anko nodded, "Yep! And last but not least, two Storage Seals along the hem, just like mine." she said as she opened her coat wide, showing off two seals along the bottom of the coat.

Hinata sent chakra into her leg before whipping the cloak, unsealing nothing since it was empty but emitting the activation smoke. She tried with the other side's seal, assuming it was empty too before she accidentally unsealed a naginata that rolled across the building.

"Oh yeah," Anko mumbled, "I totally forgot about that..." She mumbled as she went over and picked up the naginata and twirled it around a few times experimentally, "This was going to be my weapon of choice until I met Orochimaru-teme and became his apprentice, he had me swap to sword-arts for the ANBU." she said with a reminiscent smirk.

Hinata smiled as she admired the weapon, "It's a beautiful weapon Anko-sensei, and the long reach on it is definitely useful." Hinata said as she pondered the thought of getting her own weapon of some kind after she had made progress with the senbon.

Anko glanced at the Naginata which was now too small for her before turning to Hinata and holding it out to her, "Here, I want you to have this."

Hinata's eyes widened behind her headband, "A-are you sure Anko-sensei? That would've been far more expensive then this coat." Hinata exclaimed, happy but hesitant.

Anko grinned again, "Hell yeah! I still remember the basics as well so I can teach ya if you want." Anko offered happily.

Hinata took the large weapon and slowly got used to it, twirling it carefully around and above her head before taking a stance with it, "Thanks Anko-Sensei!" she shouted happily.

"No worries, so," Anko began, "Wanna start with the naginata? Or get a better grip on pressure points and muscle groups with your senbon first?" Anko asked.

Hinata bit her lip in thought for a moment before she decided, "I think... it's best I master the skills I have before adding on to them, so the senbon first." Hinata said as she held the weapon to her side.

Anko nodded and glanced around, finding a piece of a pole, she picked it up and smiled to Hinata, "Watch me, then repeat." Anko said before tossing the pole in the air. Hinata watched as Anko leapt up to the pole and twirled next to it, her coat's Storage Seal activating as it swung past to make it looked like she had made the pole disappear within it's confines before she landed with a grin, "Your turn."

Hinata took a deep breath before taking her new naginata and using two arms, threw it up in the air. She leapt up after it and spun a little less elegantly then Anko, but either way she managed to seal away the weapon first try and landed with a matching grin, "I did it!" she exclaimed cheerily.

Anko cheered as well, "Awesome! Now let's start stabbing stuff!" she declared as she spun and threw a handful of senbon, stabbing them into the cement wall behind her in a small circle no larger then the size of her head, "Try landing at least twenty senbon inside that circle from back there." Anko ordered.

Hinata hopped a few steps back, "Here?" she asked with a pout, unsure if she could be that precise.

Anko laughed and shook her head, "No! There!" she shouted as she pulled out and threw a kunai to the other side of the rooftop.

Hinata's pout grew, "Oh man..." she mumbled as she began her training.

##########

"It looks like you still do get some ocular damage," the Naruto clone said as the real Naruto sat up again, "But one of the new chakra pathways is circulating your medical chakra, healing the eyes almost as soon as you use it."

Naruto grinned, "So you reckon I can use them indefinitely? Like the next form of the Sharingan?" he asked.

The clone shook it's head, "Na, it's like this; Your healing factor works at about a third of the speed in which it's damaged, so I think after using the Mangekyou in a fight for a long period of time, your eyesight might be weaker and you'll feel more drained then usual, but by a few hours later or a night's rest maybe, they should be back at one hundred percent." the clone explained.

Naruto smirked, "That's just... that's the best, like really." he said with a chuckle.

His clone grinned in agreement, "Hell yeah it is! But umm... something else I noticed upon closer inspection..." he said with slight worry before dispelling in a cloud of smoke.

Naruto closed his eyes and went over the thoughts and memories of the clone, finding and focussing on it's new observation, "I have an extra ring?" Naruto mumbled to himself as he jogged over to the water and once more activated his Mangekyou, looking at the reflection on the still water of the thin black line just outside his Mangekyou's shuriken design.

"Yo boss!"

Naruto turned as his two clones returned with a weak looking puppy – a Staffordshire Bull Terrier – it's dirty black and grey fur making it's ribs stand out and the blood on it's injured fore-paw shine, "We found a stray, this guy's hurt." the second clone said as it lay the dog down gently.

Naruto nodded as the two clones dispersed, his Mangekyou activating as he looked down at the unconscious puppy, he formed hand seals and healed it's wounds and sickness before reaching into his bag and pulling out some meat jerky, holding it in front of the sleeping Puppy's mouth.

After a few moments, the puppy sniffed the air and Naruto focussed his ocular jutsu, timing it so that the moment the dog opened it's eyes to see what was in front of it, his technique activated "KOTOAMATSUKAMI!" Naruto exclaimed as his eyes spun.

The puppy took a single breath as Naruto entered it's mind, editing memories of it's somewhat recent life, having only been born within the year. Naruto placed himself in those memories alongside the family and the puppy for the last week of that trusted relationship before making it so the weeks of suffering was experienced together, growing their trust and understanding of each other to levels comparable to that of even the Inuzuka's bonds. As the puppy let out it's breath, Naruto fell back into his own mind as he fell onto his back from the dizziness and headache.

The puppy hopped up, eating the jerky as it climbed onto Naruto's chest and lay down, weighing even less then his old academy text books before it licked his chin and whined, asking if he was okay.

Naruto chuckled as he looked down at the puppy with one eye, the other one closed in pain, 'Okay, I think I can only do that once a day at best.' Naruto thought as his closed eye throbbed.

He raised his hands up and scratched the puppy behind the ear, getting a look at the scraggy dog collar around it's neck with a name-tag and all, "Hey Cerberus," Naruto said weakly, causing the puppy to bark happily and look down at him with it's red eyes, "Let's just rest a bit." he said as he lay back down and grinned up towards the sky.

'The Mangekyou is awesome.' he thought as he rested with his new pet.

##########

Chapter End.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven: Learning in the Land of Waves.

The two guardsmen yawned as the looked up at the sunset, "Man, how much longer till we can swap shifts?" the one on the Left asked as he looked to the east.

The one on the Right reached into his pocket and pulled out a watch, "Only one more hour. The others should be swapping out with the scouts up top about now." he replied as he put his watch away.

Left nodded and stretched before freezing still, "Wait, did you hear that?" he asked suddenly.

Right raised a brow, "Hear what?" he asked as he stood defensively.

The two Thugs stayed quiet as they stepped forward and looked around carefully, both of them jolting to the west as they squinted to see through the glare of the setting sun.

A tiny puppy yelped as it chased a small butterfly through the field joyfully, making Left laugh for a moment as Right sighed and relaxed as he turned to look away from his partner, "This is stupid, ever since that attack last night we've had to stay on alert, but I really doubt with Choseki here that we'll be attacked." Right said.

Left shrugged, not noticing as a figure suddenly blurred into existence between the two of them from a perfected shunshin, "Yeah, but since Gantetsu left Choseki seems less... I dunno... threatening." he said with another yawn.

Right nodded as he continued watching the puppy disappear in the distance before it suddenly turned to them and looked right behind them.

Right and Left turned to look between them as the silhouetted figure flipped into the air, it's leg snapping out to kick Left straight up into the air while it's fist punched Right out of the clearing and into the forests surrounding them.

Naruto landed and cracked his knuckles while staring up, 'Okay, so according to Hinata there's a trap for this fake door before I can get to the entryway. Then the real door should be blocked off by a completely stocked liquor cabinet behind the bar.' he thought as he took a few steps back and began to form hand seals.

Left fell down from the sky with a loud scream, alerting everyone in the tower to the presence of someone before Naruto kicked his descending ass, smashing through the fake door and letting Left take the deadly trap for him while clearing the way.

Naruto brought his hands together in his last seal before his cheeks bulged, "FIRE STYLE: HALO FLAME!" he shouted as he spat out a halo of red fire.

The thugs inside scrambled as Naruto's jutsu hit the highly flammable cabinet, exploding outwards and covering the entire half of the room in fire along with most of the people inside.

Naruto leapt in through the gap and his Uzugan span as he ducked and weaved through the attacks of three men with long-swords. He stepped forward suddenly, blocking one sword with his Chakra Scalpel and parrying it in a way to block the other two blades, letting him step to the trio's side so that from his perspective they were lined up, "SOLID GOLD FIST!" Naruto shouted as he slammed a punch into the man closest to him.

All three went flying away to slam into the railing at the bottom of the stairwell. Smashing wood in front of the next five men that ran down fully armed, 'All swords, no chakra, looks like this Choseki guy is getting rid of his lackeys first.' Naruto thought as he stepped back and crunched his knuckled, "Come on then!" he exclaimed with a grin.

The five men shouted as they began to charge forward.

"_Hey brat! How's it goin?" _

Naruto faltered as Anko's voice distracted him, making him hesitate and nearly get slashed before he quickly regained control of the situation and threw one man into the open fires and entered a stand off with the last four.

He raised an arm to the button on his earpiece, "A little busy Anko-sensei, so far so good, how are the others?" he asked.

"_They're going with the stealthy approach, remember that this ninja might run so don't let him get away." _

Naruto nodded, "Hai Sensei, over and out." he said just before getting stabbed.

**POOF**

The man gasped as he managed to only pierce a log, letting Naruto leap out from behind the group while forming hand seals with a kunai in hand, "FIRE STYLE: HALO DANCE!" he shouted as his kunai combusted with fire.

The four men turned to him as he began to slash his flaming blade through the air, launching three blades of fire that managed to kill two of the men and set one of the final two on fire. Naruto leapt forward at the last thug as he threw his still flaming kunai at the burning man.

Naruto and the last thug locked in a strength struggle, Naruto's Chakra Scalpel holding off the longsword quite easily as Naruto watched his thrown kunai hit home, planting itself up to the handle into the other thug's sternum before Naruto locked eyes with his one enemy.

The last thug gasped as Naruto suddenly appeared behind him in a burst of motion, shaking the blood from his hand as the man's side opened in a bloody gash thanks to Naruto's chakra scalpel.

Naruto looked up with his Uzugan, seeing a chakra signature two floor above him, 'There should be another twelve or so thugs left along with the ninja,' he thought as he lowered his stance and gathered his chakra and strength, 'Let's see if I can lower those numbers.' he thought as he turned to the supporting wall across the centre of the room.

Naruto leapt forward as he reared back his fist, "SOLID GOLD FIST!" Naruto shouted as he punched the wall.

Naruto looked up as the wall crumble and the whole construct began to shake. He clapped his hands together in a Ram Seal before disappearing in a blur.

##########

Cerberus looked up as Naruto appeared in front of him in a crouch, "Arf!"

Naruto smirked at the puppy before looking up as he watched the building from the side of the clearing. It collapsed loudly, resulting in a large pile of rubble and screams.

Naruto's eyes quickly analysed the pile, noticing that not a single one of the thugs had made it out safely, the four that were alive screaming over having crushed limbs and body parts. But standing at the back of formation, having leapt from the window as the building collapsed.

Naruto and Choseki stood in a silent stare off before the missing ninja from Iwagakure began to form hand seals. Naruto clapped his hands together as his enemy shouted out, "EARTH STYLE: ROCK PELLETS!"

Naruto's Uzugan let him copy the jutsu and read the trajectory as he raced between the pellets in the Jutsu with his high speed shunshin, dodging every single one before he used his strength to catch one out of the air a second before he came to a stop in front of his enemy, slamming the rock into his shoulder and collarbone, shattering it painfully before he stepped away from his enemy and reactivated his Chakra Scalpels.

Choseki shouted in pain and fell back, pulling out a kunai with his working arm as he stood defensively as he began to edge away, "S-stay back!" the man ordered.

Naruto smirked, "Tell me everything you know about Gato's plans." Naruto demanded.

Choseki shouted angrily and slashed at Naruto, the blonde raising his arm in time to cut the man's hand off at the wrist and stop the threat completely. Choseki screamed in pain and shock as he fell back, his arms useless in a fight and leaving him open for Naruto's final attack.

Choseki gasped, pausing his scream as Naruto gripped his forehead so that his fingers were digging into the sides of his forehead, "MEDIC STYLE: NEURO-SURGE!" Naruto shouted as some of the bio-electricity from Naruto's nervous system was supercharged and channelled into Choseki's body, causing the ex-Iwa nin to convulse for a few moments before he was forcefully pushed into a temporary coma.

Naruto panted for a moment before steadily his breath and kneeling next to his captive, healing his stump and the wounds on his body before severing his spinal cord just above the tail bone, rendering his legs useless before Naruto formed hand seals, "SUMMONING JUTSU!"

**POOF**

Kaze arrived majestically, fluttering her wings out to dispel the cloud of smoke in a single soft breeze before looking down at Naruto, "Hey Kaze," he said as he tossed his prisoner onto Kaze's back and hopped on backwards as he grabbed some rope, only pausing when Kaze neighed at him, "Just a sec, I have to tie him up just in case." Naruto said as he did so.

Kaze began to trot off as Naruto finished and got comfortable in his saddle.

"Arf! Arf!" Cerberus barked up at Naruto and the pegasus.

Kaze raised a brow at the puppy before she lowered her head and picked up the puppy by the collar and placed it on her outstretched wing, Cerberus was suddenly quiet as it focussed intently on walking to Naruto.

Naruto chuckled as he sat Cerberus between his legs, letting one hand hold him as his other hand entwined in Kaze's mane, "Thanks Kaze, how's it going?" Naruto asked.

Kaze chirped, 'Alright I guess, though I was actually heading out to get some food when you summoned me.'

Naruto chuckled, "Sorry about that, what is it that you eat anyway?" Naruto asked.

The Pegasus stood tall, 'Well, you know how there are predatorial birds that eat other birds and eggs?' she asked.

"Yeah." Naruto said with a frown, not sure he was liking where this was going.

Kaze trotted as if proud, 'We hunt the hunters. After all, what other animals could get to them up in the sky?' she asked rhetorically before stopping in a clear area at the edge of the clearing, 'Now, where are we going?' she asked.

Naruto took his hand from Cerberus as he pressed the button on his earpiece, "Target confirmed and captured, pick you up at the rendezvous point?" Naruto asked.

"_Pick me up?" _Anko's voice rang into his ear.

Naruto blinked before leaning forward, "Hey Kaze, can you carry a third person?" he asked.

Kaze nearly squawked as if offended, 'Easily! I could lift a house into the air with me if I wanted, we Pegasi have the strongest wings of all known creatures!' Kaze exclaimed as she widened her wings in pride.

Naruto smirked and clicked the button on his earpiece again, "Yep, just be ready to leap up into the air and make sure you're facing our second rendezvous point." Naruto said.

"_Hahaha! Cool! But umm... we should swing by Sasuke and Hinata's tower on the way." _

Naruto's eyes narrowed before he leaned forward, "Kaze, let's head west, I'll direct you once we're up." Naruto said as he took a grip of Cerberus and Kaze's mane.

Kaze neighed and in three wing beats they were in the air, flying over the trees back towards the Land of Waves.

After a minute, Naruto looked down to see a small humanoid figure standing atop a destroyed bridge, "There she is!" Naruto exclaimed.

Kaze let out a loud squawk before diving through the air at Anko, alerting the woman who leapt up into the air at the sound.

They swooped under her as Naruto used one hand to hold his puppy and the other to grab Anko's arm to stabilise her. Naruto used his link with Kaze to direct her towards Sasuke and Hinata as he shouted to Anko, "What's the problem?!" Naruto asked.

Anko grinned since she was having fun, "Just get me over the tower, I'll fix this, can you like, get more transport or something?" she asked as she pointed ahead.

Naruto smirked, "I know just the trick!" Naruto exclaimed as they flew through the air.

In only one minute, the tower came into view and they began circling it as Anko stood on Kaze's back, "Be ready for a bang, we have a blast radius to clear." Anko said.

Naruto looked over his shoulder at her, "Blast radius?" he asked.

Instead of answering, Anko swan dove through the air while forming hand seals as she came closer to the tower, "EARTH STYLE: BURROWING PYTHONS!" she shouted as she aimed her hands below her, letting out three pythons from each sleeve that were vibrating at high speed.

Naruto watched as Anko casually drilled through the ceiling, 'Who're you going to bring Naruto?' Kaze asked him mentally.

Naruto smirked as he crossed his fingers in a hand seal, "SUMMONING: SHADOW CLONE JUTSU!" Naruto exclaimed.

**POOF**

Kaze gasped as she suddenly was beside herself, literally, 'What the heck? I did a clone jutsu!' she exclaimed in thought.

Naruto chuckled as the Kaze clone flew away, bare-backed and ready, "Actually that's a Shadow Clone made of my chakra, but it used your form since it channelled through you," Naruto explained, "Kaa-san taught me this with her slugs ages ago, I just finally have my own partner to use it with. My brain and chakra, your body." Naruto said.

Kaze nodded and began to fly up into the air, "So... that means it can't do your jutsu since it can't make hand seals and it can't do mine because it doesn't know them," Kaze said, "They're just transport?"

Naruto nodded, "Basically..." he began, he was about to add more when the air around them went very still for just a second, "Let's go!" Naruto shouted.

Kaze and the Clone dove through the air as Anko, Sasuke and Hinata leapt out of one of the third storey windows. Clone got under Sasuke as Anko leapt up and managed to hitch a ride as well while Naruto and Kaze dove down behind Hinata, the girl leaping up and locking grips with Naruto as the two pegasi began to fly up into the air.

**BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM**

Naruto had just pulled Hinata down behind him in time when the building below them exploded from underneath, surprisingly, it completely obliterated the tower and the clearing around it which caved in on itself.

They regrouped in the air, Clone and Kaze circling on opposite sides of each other as Naruto passed Cerberus to Hinata, gaining a confused but amused smile from her as she hugged him around the waist to keep hold.

Naruto raised a hand to his earpiece as he looked over at Sasuke and Anko, "Back to base?"

Anko was riding Clone like Naruto was while Sasuke was standing, using his chakra to hold on tightly as Anko raised her hand to her own earpiece, _"__Yep, back to Tazuna's for drop off and then we'll have__tonight's meeting, lead the way!" _Anko said to him.

Naruto nodded and leaned forward, "Let's get going Kaze!" Naruto exclaimed.

Hinata smiled at the puppy that licked her chin before blushing as she gripped Naruto so tightly she could feel his hard muscle, 'Wow...' she thought as she let her arm move up his body to feel his pecs.

Naruto raised a brow at the pressure before chuckling as he tried to focus on directing Kaze around the unfamiliar area, "Head in the game Hinata-chan!" Naruto exclaimed.

Hinata blushed even harder as she buried her face in his back, "Sh-shut up Nii-kun!" she pleaded much to his amusement.

##########

Sasuke covered his mouth as he yawned before looking over his shoulder as Naruto and Hinata came out of Tazuna's house, "All clear, no disturbances. You guys get everything?" Sasuke asked.

They came to his side as Naruto held up three scrolls, "Yep, summaries of each of our tower attacks, captive restrained and nullified, and Anko's message for Kakashi-sensei." Naruto said.

Sasuke nodded before looking to Hinata expecting her to take the lead as usual only to see her distracted by Naruto's new dog, "Are you actually going to keep that?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto nodded, "Of course I am! Cerberus is part of the family now." Naruto said as his dog looked up at hearing it's name be called.

"Arf!" Cerberus barked, making Sasuke sigh before he began to lead the way as Naruto and Hinata fell in line next to each other, "So, what was it that caused that massive explosion?" Naruto asked Hinata.

Hinata blushed again as Naruto addressed her, making his eyes narrow at the observation before she spoke, "Well, I couldn't see it until we had gotten closer, but the basement had an oil well in it that this group of people were beginning to rig up. Sasuke's fires eventually reached it but by then we had already taken most of the tower before we were cornered at the top. Anko-sensei managed to get us an opening that we could flee through and here we are." Hinata explained.

Naruto nodded, "Hmm, interesting." he mumbled.

"And how did your one go?" she asked.

Naruto grinned, "Almost exactly as planned. Even managed to catch the prisoner myself before Anko-sensei and I flew to you guys." Naruto said.

Hinata nodded, proud of her hot brother... she shook her head as she blushed again, looking down at the puppy in her arms even though her Byakugan showed her everything.

Naruto raised a brow at her behaviour before smirking and winking at her, knowing she was watching him since her blush increased even more, causing him to laugh.

"We're supposed to be moving quietly you two," Sasuke said over his shoulder as he paused in his march to wait for them to catch up, his gauntlets shining in the moonlight, "Come on, we're meant to be moving quickly back to Sensei." he said.

The two nodded and began to move alongside him, Naruto glanced down at Sasuke's gauntlets, "So Sasuke... what's the deal with those?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke smirked and raised his gauntlets, one black with gold stripes in colour and the other amber with black stripes, "These gauntlets reflect my tiger partners, one of speed and sound techniques, one of power and fire techniques. Together, they are supposed to resemble their connection to me, their summoning partner." Sasuke explained.

Naruto nodded in interest before glancing to Hinata, checking out her new coat and noticing once more as her blush increased, 'Does she think I'm checking her out?' he thought before glancing at the back of the proud Uchiha's head, 'I thought those two were starting something here...' he thought to himself before shrugging and deciding it doesn't matter, 'To think we've only been here two days and we've done so much, ha!' Naruto thought to himself with a successful grin.

Thirteen minutes later, the group stopped as Hinata gasped, "What is it?" Sasuke asked as he blinked on his Sharingan.

Hinata pointed at a wall, "A block that way there are some men with swords looking towards the town hall just down the road. I.. I think they're about to attack!" she exclaimed before putting Cerberus on the ground and running ahead.

Sasuke and Naruto immediately dashed after her, the blonde tossing his scrolls into the air for a Shadow Clone to catch before it picked up the puppy, "Let's let them handle it." Clone said as it leapt up onto a rooftop and towards the Town Hall.

Hinata stepped out onto the main road as nearly a block away the first of the six men appeared, charging towards the open and welcoming doors of the town hall and the leading two throw grenades ahead of them. She launched her senbon, stabbing the front two of them with a close cluster in their attacking arms.

The swordsmen paused, and Team 7 took action.

Kakashi appeared with his Sharingan glowing, taking absolutely perfect aim and leaping sideways in the air to kick one grenade back out the door and into the window of the abandoned building across the street as he caught the other one and casually using his fingers to pinch the lit fuse, suffocating the flame and putting it out.

**BOOM**

As the thugs looked at the collapsing building, Naruto appeared behind one of them, punching him into an unconscious state before leaping away as he was attacked by another.

Sasuke's black gauntlet sucked him forward at the speed of sound, "BULLET PUNCH!" Sasuke shouted as his attack instantly shattered the chest of one man before he used his amber gauntlet to enter a power struggle with another's sword.

Hinata ran in quickly at the two she had attacked, landing between them and the doorway as she took her Wing Chun stance, stepping in close and hitting their wrists to parry their sword strikes before she stepped inside on of their guards, putting her back to his chest before she grabbed his arm and knocked them wide, opening his torso up and keeping his back to the second man.

Naruto let his Uzugan swirl as he tested out his new jutsu, "EARTH STYLE: ROCK PELLETS!" Naruto shouted.

The man's sword strike was blocked by a rising stone before he noticed another nine in the air, they shot at him and pummelled his chest and arms as he tried and failed to guard against them, slamming him all the way back so that he'd trip over his unconscious friend and land heavily on his back defeated.

Sasuke used his Sharingan to time his parry perfectly, opening up his final enemy's chest as he sent chakra to the tiger on his amber gauntlet, it's mouth opening and unleashing a fire that wrapped around his fist harmlessly thanks to his control over fire chakra, "FIRE PUNCH!" Sasuke shouted as he punched they guy's chest.

He was thrown back from the explosive and fiery punch, setting him on fire as the impact point left a continuously burning fist into his flesh.

Hinata lined herself up and hit her closer enemy with a painful barrage, making him drop his sword which she grabbed out of the air as she spun and kicked at his knee, knocking him down and opening up her aim to throw the sword so that it stabbed through the second man's stomach all the way up to the hilt.

Hinata swung her guarding arm calmly, parrying the first man's hand as she saw the grenade he had in it, having already lit the fuse as some point before their fight. She flicked out a senbon into the man's forearm, making him drop the grenade as she took him out.

The grenade fell through the air as Hinata turned to it, though to her surprise, the man who she had stabbed with the sword had used the last of his energy to throw himself towards her, making her dodge and step away from the grenade as the fuse got close to the end, 'No!' she thought as her eyes widened.

Kakashi appeared out of nowhere, with little chakra and little time, he punted the grenade as hard as he could, throwing it up into the air and across the street before it exploded.

Naruto had already moved into the doorway to help Hinata when the explosion occurred, Naruto being the closest as he saw the large volume of shrapnel fly towards them all with him being first in line, his Uzugan morphed into the Mangekyou as his chakra flowed out green around him, "SUSANO'O!" Naruto shouted.

Everyone inside the hall and behind Naruto watched as he protected them all, stopping all of the shrapnel that was going to hit the majority of them...

At least, all of those inside.

After defeating his enemies, Sasuke had looked up in time to see the shrapnel grenade explode and Naruto and Hinata in danger, 'No!' Sasuke thought as his Curse Mark sparked to life and he dashed forward.

Sasuke appeared in front of his team, not seeing Naruto's Susano'o activate and cover everyone behind him as he thought only of saving the only precious people he had left.

**BOOOM**

"""Sasuke!""" Naruto, Hinata and Kakashi exclaimed as they ran forward, Hinata catching Sasuke as Naruto began to form hand seals while Kakashi lifted his headband to see how bad the damage was.

Naruto finished his hand seals as his hands glowed green, "ULTIMATE MYSTICAL PALM HEALING JUTSU!" Naruto exclaimed as he got to work removing the shrapnel from Sasuke.

Hinata took off her headband due to the tears messing with her vision, "Naruto? Will he be okay?" Hinata asked in fear.

Naruto swallowed as he kept working, "I think so... but it won't be without a mark," Naruto said before looking up at Kakashi, "Sensei, go clear the first operation spot, tell Tsunami to get my Medical gear from spot six." Naruto ordered before looking up at Hinata, "Get the carry board."

Kakashi and Hinata ran off and came back moments later with half of one of the old doors, laying it on the ground next to Sasuke as she formed a hand seal, "SHADOW CLONE JUTSU!" she exclaimed as she brought up another clone, the two of them moving around to take either end of the piece of wood.

Naruto paused and began forming another set of hand seals, "I've closed all the wounds around the shards, this'll buy us time to move him, then I'll do one wound at a time, each one should take about four minutes maximum." Naruto said as the Hinatas lifted Sasuke onto the wood and lifted it from either end.

Naruto began to work again as they moved, the majority of the civilians watching as Naruto opened a single wound with his pointer finger and in a single quick burst of blood, the first piece of shrapnel was removed. By the time Hinata had set Sasuke down in the designated spot, Naruto had healed the internal damage and had begun to stitch the wound closed with his chakra, "Tsunami, do you have my things?" he asked before he continued his work, receiving the tools necessary as he tried his best to save his friend.

##########

_Five hours later_

##########

Naruto sat down on the roof of the Town Hall and closed his eyes as his feet dangled over the edge of the building, 'He might not be the happiest guy in the world, but he's a true friend,' Naruto thought as he remembered Sasuke willing to sacrifice his life to save Naruto and Hinata's, even if it was just a spur of the moment instinct, 'I just hope I did everything right.' he thought as he yawned and leaned back.

Feeling his back thunk against something, Naruto looked over his shoulder to see Hinata sitting there, her headband around her neck as she rested her head against his shoulder, the two of them looking up at the night's sky, "Why are you up here Hinata-chan?" Naruto asked softly.

Hinata smiled softly, "If being with Sasuke helped him at all that's where I'd be, but as his wise doctor said, all he needs is rest," she said before glancing up at him, "And I think you do as well Nii-kun."

Naruto chuckled once at her logic, "Yeah, Sensei said he'll keep watch once we wake him up for the rest of the night..." he began before sighing and just flopping.

Hinata gasped as Naruto fell back on her, the two of them lying down under the moonlight and resting together, close enough that their shoulders were touching.

"...Nii-kun?"

Naruto turned his head to look at Hinata, "Yeah?" he asked.

Hinata rolled over to face him, not minding that she was close enough that he could feel her breath, "You're good at reading people and everything..." she began before sighing, "...What do you see when you look at Sasuke-kun and me?" she asked with a blush.

Naruto smiled, tired but amused, "When I look at you and Sasuke... I see the most inspirational people of our generation," Naruto began, earning a look of curious shock from Hinata, "You both have lost your clans in the worst ways, Sasuke, never able to see them again, and you, reminded that you're not welcome with them every time we see a Hyuuga," Naruto said with a shrug, "And together, I see a slightly unbalanced but happy relationship developing that may become something... I dunno, memorable." Naruto said with a smile.

Hinata smiled as she looked at Naruto, 'I know that I like Sasuke a little... and he does keep showing me his chivalrous side...' she thought before her eyes refocussed on the side of Naruto's face as he looked up at the sky, 'But Nii-kun... if I had started to look at him this way earlier, then I think I might've fallen for him, he is the nicest boy my age in the village.' she thought before sighing and looking up at the sky herself.

Naruto's brow furrowed as he began to think about Sasuke, 'He really needs someone to connect to, and Hinata needs a support in her life. Since that kiss those two accidentally had... well, Sasuke definitely has a thing for Hinata-chan, but... I'm still not sure if his feelings are one hundred percent returned.' Naruto thought before glancing to Hinata slightly, his eyes swirling as he memorised the pretty glow of the moonlight on her pale face. He smiled peacefully for a moment before his eyes slowly closed, his last sight being her turning to face him in the moonlight.

Hearing his breathing even out, Hinata turned her head to look at Naruto only to freeze as she faced him completely. She had turned her head on the right angle, but because of his unexpected proximity, she ended up pressing her lips to Naruto's.

Hinata froze, her lips still pressing against his in a gentle kiss for a moments before she pulled away, her wide eyes staring at his unconscious face as he smiled calmly in his sleep and for the first time she'd seen, he was sleeping without a furrow in his brow.

Hinata slowly moved herself away from Naruto and sat up, raising a hand to touch her lips before she looked at Naruto's.

"Ah here you are," Kakashi said as he walked out of the doorway to the stairwell, noticing the blushing but sitting Hinata looking after the sleeping Naruto, "...and it seems you've taken care of him for me." Kakashi said with an eye smile.

Hinata glanced down at Naruto before looking up at Kakashi, "Taken care of him?" she asked.

Kakashi nodded as he moved over to them, grabbing Naruto's sleeping bag along the way, "I'll keep watch, but I want you to go sleep next to Sasuke for the night, keep an eye on him just in case." Kakashi said.

Hinata nodded silently before she stood, moving over to her own sleeping bag and grabbing it before glancing over her shoulder at the sleeping Naruto as Kakashi covered him with his sleeping bag, '...what the hell am I doing?' she asked herself before going to watch over Sasuke.

##########

Naruto woke with a gasp from his nightmare, recoiling from Kakashi as the Jonin knelt by him, "Naruto, hey, calm down, it was just a dream." Kakashi said as he held his hands up defensively.

Naruto calmed his breathing and nodded, "Yeah, sorry Sensei." he thought before licking his dry lips.

Naruto paused for a moment, 'Why do my lips taste like pineapple?' he thought curiously before shaking his head and shrugging, "What's the plan for today Sensei?" he asked as he glanced over to the rising sun, meaning it had to be around six fifteen in the morning.

Kakashi eye smiled, "Since I spent yesterday training with Sasuke, today I'm going to spend it with you," he said before he stood, "And after I test out that Susano'o of yours, there's something else I plan to start you on." Kakashi said.

Naruto sighed as he stood, "What is it? And shouldn't you be resting Sensei?" he asked.

Kakashi shrugged, "Well, I guess I should, but with Zabuza's blade in our grasp, his own wounds heavy and his assistant's wounds just as bad, I think I can put in a little more effort for one more morning. Then after that, you'll be left to your own devices for the day."

Naruto raised a brow, "Cool, but... can I check on Sasuke first?" Naruto asked.

##########

Sasuke groaned as he woke about an hour after Naruto, he hissed as he felt sharp pangs of pain all over his body, but soon the pain faded and Sasuke opened his eyes to look up at the blurry shapes of Naruto, Hinata and Kakashi.

"Hey Sasuke," Kakashi said with an eye smile, "How ya doin?"

Sasuke scoffed weakly, "I just took a bunch of shrapnel to the entire right half of my body, how do you think I'm doing?" he asked as he rolled into a sitting position with another groan.

Naruto placed a green glowing hand on Sasuke's shoulder, "Well, ya gotta feel better then you look Sasuke." Naruto said with a chuckle.

Sasuke frowned up at Naruto, ready to yell at him before he got a glimpse of his own arm, his eyes widening as he looked down.

Sasuke's whole right side was covered in small scars, none larger then a fingernail and none darker then a freckle, but from the one scratch across his face down to the several on his right shin, he had a wide assortment of scars and marks down his right side and to his shock, three large ones over his lung and dangerously close to his heart, "How... just how close did I come to dying?" he asked softly.

Naruto's smile faltered slightly, "Technically, you did die for a few seconds. Your heart stopped being able to pump your blood but I made it so you could pull through before giving you a little kick-start." Naruto said with a smile.

Sasuke looked down at his hands, realisation moving through him as he realised he really would've died if not for Naruto, "...Naruto..." Sasuke mumbled before looking up at the gennin he thought of as his most respected friend, "I owe you my life, thank you." he said softly.

Naruto blinked before a serious smile came over his face, "You owe me nothing my friend, let's discuss this when we get back to the Leaf village, okay?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke nodded and stood on shaky legs, "Sounds good to me." he said with a smirk before s shirt was shoved in his face.

Sasuke glanced over at the blushing Hinata, the girl's eyes covered again even though her blush was visible due, "Here." she said.

Sasuke took his offered shirt and put it on, "Thanks Hinata-chan." Sasuke said gently.

The moment he finished pulling his shirt on, Hinata hugged him around the chest, "Glad you're okay," she said before letting go and leaving while talking over her shoulder, "I'm going to meet Anko-sensei at the bridge for today's training, by Sensei, Nii-kun." she said as she walked away.

Naruto chuckled as she retreated into the distance, "First things first," Naruto said as he looked up at Kakashi and winked since he already knew the answer, "What's our plans for the day Sensei?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke looked up to Kakashi as the Jonin began speaking, "Well, I think since yesterday I helped out Sasuke and given his injuries, I'm going to be trusting you to keep watch today alright?" Kakashi asked.

Sasuke frowned but nodded, "Do I have any form of back-up?" Sasuke asked.

Kakashi nodded, "Two of Naruto's clones that are working around as medics and Hinata's one clone sitting up top with her Byakugan scanning the immediate area," Kakashi explained, "You're the one in charge now Sasuke, they're under your orders."

Sasuke smirked and nodded as he sat on the edge of the stage, "Got it Sensei," he said before looking at Naruto, "Just because you healed me doesn't mean you're stronger. Try hard for today's training ya hear?" he basically ordered Naruto.

The blonde nodded and chuckled as he turned to walk away, "Alright already," Naruto said as he waved over his shoulder to Sasuke, "Later Uchiha." he said with a hidden smirk.

Sasuke chuckled, "Til next time Senju." he mumbled.

Kakashi chuckled as well as he looked between the two before following after Naruto, having already collected the things he needed for the new training.

##########

Naruto and Kakashi came to a stop behind Tazuna's house, ready to train until the two civilians left inside were ready to head into town. Since Tazuna had already left with Anko not much earlier, it was no surprise to see Tsunami wave to them from the lounge room and Inari not so stealthily watching them from upstairs.

"Naruto, put up your guard." Kakashi ordered as he pulled out two kunai.

Naruto smirked and nodded, concentrating for a moment before his Mangekyou appeared and his Susano'o ribcage solidified around him, "Ready Sensei!" Naruto exclaimed as he nearly pulsed with chakra.

Kakashi looked over the defence, seeing many openings between the ribs. He threw his kunai at full speed at the gap, though as if the ribs were blocking the area, the kunai bounced off harmlessly, "Very good," Kakashi said before lifting his second kunai, revealing the explosive tag wrapped around the handle, "Next test!" Kakashi exclaimed as he threw it.

Naruto smirked and crossed his arms calmly as the explosion didn't even ruffle his hair, the shockwave not getting anywhere near him through the ribcage, "Boring Sensei, either we wait until you can use your stronger techniques to test this out for real or I say we get started on the next challenge!" Naruto exclaimed.

Kakashi chuckled and watched as Naruto calmly let his chakra dissipate before he began panting, 'Amazing, since he's gifted with so much raw chakra he can activate it almost easily... well, I guess it's time to start him on what I had Sasuke start yesterday.' Kakashi thought as he sat down, "Alright Naruto," Kakashi began as he reached into his pouch and pulled out a small slither of paper, "Do you know what this is?" he asked.

Naruto nodded, "From the size and shine of it I'd deduce it's Chakra Paper?" Naruto asked as he sat in front of Kakashi.

The copy ninja nodded, "Yes..." he said softly before tilting his head in thought, "And you know what this is because you've used it before?" Kakashi theorised.

Naruto nodded as he took the offered piece of paper, "Yep, send in some chakra and my natural Wind Element..." Naruto said before the paper cut in half before the two halves exploded into fire, "...And fire apparently." Naruto said in shock.

Kakashi raised a brow, "You mean your Fire signature is new? But... that's obviously your main chakra element with Wind being your secondary..." Kakashi said.

Naruto blinked, "Umm, how can you tell that?" Naruto asked.

Kakashi sighed and gestured to the two small ash piles, "If Wind was your Primary Elemental type then one of the two halves would've been fine, but since both halves burned, that means the Fire Chakra made it through first, making it the Primary and the Wind your Secondary." Kakashi explained before looking at Naruto, "Which by the way is kind of amazing."

Naruto nodded before smirking, 'The Bloodline Inheritance... did that seal align more of me with the standard Uchiha then I thought?' Naruto pondered before fumbling to catch the scroll that Kakashi threw at his chest.

"That scroll," Kakashi began, "Contains one of my least used fire techniques, the Fire Style: Flame Sphere." Kakashi explained as Naruto unravelled the scroll, reading over the jutsu with a smile.

"This looks awesome Sensei!" Naruto exclaimed as he continued reading.

Kakashi eye smiled, "You can study this in your own time after you finish the first two steps. I was amazed by Sasuke, he managed to learn the first step in a single day with both his lightning AND fire chakra since they seemed equal for the most part." he explained.

Naruto frowned as he looked up at Kakashi, "The first step? The first step of what?" he asked.

Kakashi eye smiled as he picked up a leaf, "The first step in mastering control over your elemental chakra; burning this leaf."

##########

"Ready to give it a go Hinata?" Anko asked from her place sitting on top of a bin.

Hinata nodded as she flicked her wrists, taking six senbon into her grip, "Hai Sensei!" she shouted in determination as her chakra flared.

Anko nodded and whistled, suddenly having Mud Clones appearing from the long grass and running around the field as they threw shuriken at her.

Hinata leapt up into the air, dodging the shuriken as she threw her first two senbon, one of them hitting the clone's spine and making the clone jolt before the second senbon hit the base of it's neck, making it paralysed and rendered unconscious before it fell into mud once more.

Hinata landed and sidestepped another shuriken before ducking and throwing two more senbon, hitting the elbow of one and the neck of another, destroying the second but missing the incapacitating hit on the first clone.

Anko smirked as Hinata scowled, 'Since she's missed one now she has to try for up close.' Anko thought as her clones began to charge Hinata.

The ex-Hyuuga leapt forward while launching four senbon at the closer two clones, taking them out before she pulled out another senbon and clashed with the first clone that arrived at her position.

Hinata's eyes analysed the field, one enemy she was clashing with while the last one that she had injured earlier leapt up into the air while throwing shuriken down at Hinata.

Hinata used her height and got inside the closer clone's guard, pulling it so that the shuriken hit the clone before she kicked it's crumbling remains up into the air with a chakra enhanced kick.

The airborne and final Anko faltered as it was covered in mud from the clone, not seeing as Hinata leapt up into the air while launching her last senbon, hitting the clone in the chest, the tiny needle hitting the point where the clone's heart was pierced.

Hinata turned to Anko with a smile as the last clone lost form, "Very good kid, now, wanna get started on that new weapon of yours? Or work on Kakashi's super secret new idea?" Anko asked with a scheming smirk.

Hinata raised a brow, "What's Kakashi-sensei's Idea?" she asked curiously.

Anko grinned, "I was hoping you'd say that!" she exclaimed as she brought out a small piece of Chakra Paper, "Let's get started on your Chakra Element!"

##########

Naruto sat in a meditative state at the end on the bridge, Kakashi in the background watching over Tazuna as the man himself directed the workers and a Naruto clone that was being used instead of their crane.

Naruto breathed deeply, his fists pressed together as he held a leaf between his two thumbs, he looked at himself from his mind's eye, 'seeing' his chakra network in his subconscious and feeling his way through it.

It flowed around corners, between and through muscles, through his bones and pressing against his skin, 'There...' Naruto thought as he found a spark of heat and guided it through his system.

As it flowed, more sparks in his chakra became visible to him. Guiding down his arms, it ignited, fire chakra flowing down his fingers and into the leaf in his grip.

Naruto's eyes snapped open as the leaf combusted, making Naruto smirk as he analysed his chakra's movement, perfecting the skill in moments as Naruto sat forward and put his hands on the pile of leaves in front of him, burning through all of them in a few seconds.

Naruto's smirk grew as he clapped his hands together, making them feel extremely hot before he turned to the small pile of logs he had collected next to him before training. Naruto gripped the log with both hands and focussed as hard as he could, causing smoke to appear as the wood slowly charred between his fingers.

Kakashi watched with a hidden smirk, 'His control sure is incredible, when people say that he and Tsunade have truly perfect chakra control I think they underestimate just how amazing that is.' he thought as Naruto succeeded in mastering the second step on his first try.

Naruto smirked as the log caught fire around his hands – making him glad he had taken off his jacket so that the sleeves didn't catch on fire – meaning he had finished the second step successfully before he picked up the last two logs in one hand each, igniting them in barely twenty seconds before he set them all in a pile in front of him.

Naruto moved his hands through the fire calmly, smirking at the simple skill before looking to to tell Kakashi about his success.

"Very good Naruto," the Jonin said as he knelt next to Naruto, making the blonde grin, "Now I think it's time we try the fourth step of Fire Chakra control." Kakashi said.

Naruto raised a brow at that, "Fourth? I thought all elemental training only had three?" Naruto asked.

Kakashi shrugged, "All necessary elemental training yes, but if one wants to truly become synonymous with their chakra element. They have to get to the fifth stage at least." Kakashi explained.

Naruto's eyes widened, "That I really did not know," Naruto said as he got distracted by the new information, "Can you tell me more?" Naruto said, staring at Kakashi expectantly.

Kakashi sighed before glancing around the bridge, seeing he wasn't needed anywhere, he sat down next to Naruto, "Well, you know how the Tsuchikage's line all have that weight manipulation skill? What's another thing that they all have in common?" Kakashi asked.

Naruto thought hard for a moment, "They... were all master and student?" he asked.

Kakashi nodded, "Not only that, but they all had done the first five levels for Earth chakra." Kakashi explained wisely.

Naruto frowned in thought, noticing the hidden meaning in Kakashi's words, "Meaning that earth has more then five?" Naruto asked.

Kakashi shrugged, "It's assumed that there is, no one but two men in the past have attained that level of control and become Iron users." Kakashi said.

Naruto bit his lip in thought as he nodded, "So what's the end result of getting to the fifth stage in fire chakra?" Naruto asked as he looked at the little fire he had in front of him.

Kakashi eye smiled, "Pure Chakra Ignition; the ability to conjure flames just from your own chakra without jutsu or any extra form of manipulation." Kakashi explained.

Naruto grinned, "That's pretty awesome!" Naruto exclaimed as he got to work.

##########

The following days past quickly for Team 7.

One tower a night, then two a night, then three. The trio of gennin had grown quickly under the watchful gaze of Kakashi and Anko, mastering moves they hadn't even heard of the week before all while learning more about the local land and their enemy; Gato.

The interrogated ninja named Goseki gave away all the information he knew as a bargaining chip for his life. Giving Anko all that she needed to plan out the next few attacks.

For three days it was training and tower wrecking, clearing out the enemy threat and inspiring locals to take action in rebuilding parts of their town, starting with the town hall being turned into the first of three safe-buildings for the populace of the Land of Waves.

And Gato was not happy.

He had launched an attack on each one of the in-town locations; once at Tazuna's and once at each hall, and each time they were thwarted. Goseki had been one of Gato's last two ninja other then Zabuza and the one they now knew as Haku. Both of whom were injured in ways that made them inactive for at least four more days.

Meaning that this night, was the night they truly made an impact. The night that they took out Gato's largest and last in-town base.

The old mayor's mansion overlooking the shipping yards.

##########

Chapter End.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve: Taking back the Land of Waves

"So this is it huh?" Sasuke asked as he and Naruto landed behind the active team.

Anko and Hinata turned to them before turning and looking off the rooftop they were standing on, "Yeah, not too bad. Six wharves, three of which have docked ships, the other three are covered by thugs and weapons." Anko said as she looked along the southern-most portion of the island.

Hinata's Byakugan searched along the whole port, "These ships are all empty, though they look like they're ready to be loaded up at any point, I'm guessing that's for tomorrow's workers to do." Hinata theorized.

Naruto nodded as he crouched, "How many per boat and do we need to keep a low profile?" Naruto asked.

Anko nodded, "Yep, it's stealth time guys. We have to clear out all of these docks by midnight and then we're to clear the mansion up there on the cliff." Anko said.

Sasuke nodded in realization, "Which is why you had us do a tower each last night, to prepare us for this?" Sasuke theorized, the new scars on his cheek standing out against his pale skin.

Anko nodded, "Yeppers. We'll be working together to get to each ship and you'll take one each. In the mean time, I'll clear the rest of the docks and try to find the secret entry Goseki said the mayor had been trying to use when Gato had him killed." Anko said as she cracked her neck and knuckles.

The trio of gennin looked at each other before nodding, "Working time?" Naruto asked as he took a sprinting position.

Anko grinned, "Try to keep each ship under an hour, see you all at the pier's building, it'll be clear, just remember to knock on approach." she said with a wink before leaping down the side of the building and disappearing from view.

Sasuke, Naruto and Hinata looked at each other before nodding in unison, "Hinata, take the first one. Naruto, you take the last. I've got the middle one." he said earning a nod from his team before he and Naruto looked at Hinata.

"Six in each of yours while I have five in mine. Two of which are sentries circling the ship and one in each control room. The others are in the lower levels and seem to be guarding what little stock is on the ships." she explained.

Naruto grinned, "I guess we just wait for the starting signal then." Naruto said as his Uzugan span and zoomed in on Anko.

He watched her blur through the shadows for a moment before she disappeared into the darkness near one of the many guards. This man was smoking as he looked out over the water from his spot under the one lantern.

The man looked up as the flame above him went out, then he jolted before his silhouette's arms fell limp at his sides and he swayed slightly, very much dead, but hung from the post overhead so that he gave the illusion that he was still standing and keeping watch

Hinata nodded, "Anko-sensei has made contact." Hinata began as she stood.

Naruto clapped his hands in a seal as Sasuke took a few steps back, "Let's move out." he mumbled before he and Hinata leapt up into the air.

Naruto blurred through the night's sky, appearing a few metres above his ship and falling with a roll to come to a stop in the shadow of an empty container on the ship's decking.

Hinata smiled at Naruto's perfect landing as she rose through the air next to Sasuke, though as they got to the peak of their jump, Sasuke boosted ahead with his black gauntlet to make the rest of the distance, the two of them almost landing in unison on their ships.

And the first stage begun.

##########

Hinata dove head first into the large ventilation pipe down to the bottom levels, using her chakra to slide down safely and softly as she came out in the engine room.

Using her eyes, she knew that there was only one man on her current level outside of the engine room. So after glancing around the room for a while, she smirked as she got to the tool-wall near the door.

**CLANG**

Hearing a sound inside the room, the man outside glanced around before opening the door with a grunt. He stepped in, raising a brow at the single hammer that lay on the floor in front of him, he crouched to pick it up, not noticing the shadow behind him until she had lodged a senbon into the side of his neck.

Hinata watched the man fall to the ground unconscious. She took the tool from him and hung it back up, 'Best not make a mess...' she thought as she stepped out of the engine room and closed the door behind her.

Hinata looked through the ship around her, seeing two men looking rather bored as they played cards at a wobbly table in the room one floor up and two turns away. She raced through the area, sneaking into a room on the way through to grab a sheet from one of the beds.

She silently climbed on top of the piping as she entered the largest room in the ship, making her way across the mostly empty room until she used her chakra to run along the ceiling until she stood over the top of her two targets and waited.

"Two for me." one said as he placed two cards down next to the other's three.

The other man dealt out the cards quickly before slamming his hand on the table, "My win! Two pair!" he exclaimed as he went to grab the money.

The first man sighed and threw his cards down angrily, leaning down next to the table to grab another drink from the eski. Though as he came back up, he paused as he saw a young girl sitting opposite him, "What the hell?!" he exclaimed as he saw Hinata's headband and stood.

Hinata smirked at the man as he pulled out his sword and took a stance, watching and waiting for a moment, "You might want to look out." Hinata warned.

The man frowned before looking left and right, not seeing the sheet from the bed fall lightly through the air and over his head until it was too late, he stepped back and tripped over his chair, only managing to flail around in the sheet before he felt an impact on the back of his head.

Hinata nodded to herself as she looked at her clone that was sitting at the table, "Can you finish up here?" she asked politely.

The Clone nodded and stood, letting the first corpse fall from it's place onto the ground limp and begin to drag him over to the other man and the sheet.

Hinata dashed ahead, her eyes pointing out the last two targets, 'The captain's room and the sentry currently circling the bow.' she thought before dashing off.

A few minutes later, Hinata peered in through the small round window that showed her the captain's room, she glanced down at the old locking mechanism and realized there was no way she could open it quietly and no way she could do it before he grabbed the radio by his side.

Hinata smiled as she began to form hand seals before clapping her hands on the Ram seal, just like Naruto had taught her.

The captain only had time to gasp as Hinata appeared in a Shunshin right in front of him, her palm slamming into his forehead and making it so that he'd never gasp again.

Hinata dropped her stance and blew out a breath of relief, 'Ended up much closer to him then I thought.' she thought before moving over to the window and looking out across the deck, seeing the two sentries as they circled the decking.

'Once that guy moves behind the... whatever that weird thing is,' Hinata thought as she looked over the odd piece of machinery, 'Then I should have a clear shot,' she thought as she moved out the window and edged up the wall, 'Now!'

Two senbon in the neck and one was down, so Hinata leapt up into the air, falling at her last target from above and landing with her hands slamming into the man's back.

Hinata scanned the ship once more with her eyes before nodding, 'Everyone is either dead or rendered useless.' she thought with another nod to herself before moving to the rendezvous point.

##########

Sasuke landed fist first on the first of the two sentries before he dove into the shadows and stood perfectly still for nearly five minutes straight. He heard a gasp finally and his eyes snapped open as he stepped out of the shadows.

The second sentry had just begun to jog towards his downed co-worker when Sasuke stepped out opposite him and sent chakra to his eyes.

The second sentry looked up, making eye contact and being forced into Sasuke's first Visual Genjutsu; Paralysing Fear. Since his target had no chakra system to fight off the Genjutsu, it consumed him quickly, paralysing his lungs and making him fall to his side in shock, convulsing as he tried to breath until his gaze went black.

Sasuke closed his eyes for a moment before looking at the two sentries, 'Two down, three to go.' he thought as he looked up towards the control room.

Seeing the light on inside and someone's hand reach up and fiddle with a barely visible radio, 'They have radio comms?' he thought as he frowned, 'Have to be fast, if he notices either of the two down here then we're busted.' he thought as he looked at the bodies and smirked as he came up with a plan.

The man inside the control room was mid-way through yawning before the first body smashed through the window, he gasped as he turned to the body, only for the second body to slam into him.

Sasuke dove through the gap, throwing a kunai into the radio and destroying it's lower half and the circuitry inside the speaker. The man inside looked away from his radio in shock as Sasuke made the last of the distance, his amber gauntlet smashing into his face and knocking him unconscious.

Sasuke stood up and turned, glancing at the many screens that showed the location of his two other targets as well as numerous empty rooms and surprisingly, "Holy crap, is that weed?" Sasuke couldn't help but mumble as he looked at the oddly lit massive cargo room, filled from wall to wall with the medicinal drug planted in rows.

Sasuke sighed and shook his head before turning to walk off towards his first target, stumbling for a moment over one of the corpses before he looked up the wall and blinked.

"I've never seen a shipment seal before..." Sasuke thought out loud before wrapping up the poster on the wall that was labelled as a Shipment Seal, "We'll see what it does later..." he mumbled as he got moving.

Arriving at the first room with someone inside, Sasuke glanced through the small circular window, seeing the man was in the middle of making himself a drink as he leaned against the bench. Sasuke knocked on the door and stepped aside, waiting calmly as he listened to the man's footsteps and grumbling on his way to the door, "Y'know, it's not like it's locked or anythi-"

**CRUNCH**

Sasuke shook his hand as the man fell back unconscious into the room, letting Sasuke reach in and flick off the light and grabbing the man's jacket, tying his arms with it before tying him to door handle and forcing it closed on his way out.

Sasuke dashed down further into the ship, knowing his last target was fast asleep and ready to be tied down, 'Hmm, this was too easy... I should've swapped ships with Naruto.'

##########

Naruto sat with a frown in the exact same spot he had landed, having realized after his first glance around that if he moved far, he was spotted, 'This is lame, how can I take out all five of these guys without alerting anyone?' he thought as he glanced around the corner of the shipping container.

The five men laughed in unison before the captain slammed the window open from up in the control room, "Hey! We're supposed to be keeping watch ya idiots!" the captain exclaimed.

"Fuck you old man!" one of them shouted as he flipped off the captain, making the group of five laugh in unison.

The captain nearly growled before slamming the window, making Naruto's eyes narrow as he disappeared from sight.

Naruto moved back out of sight and frowned, 'You think they'd care at least a little, do these guys seriously think Gato is that impervious that they can just lay around?' he thought with a sigh before looking down at his feet.

Naruto blinked as he noticed that his feet had a slight shadow, meaning that the container was slightly elevated. Naruto knelt and noticed it was sitting on a group of wooden slats, letting him come up with a simple but effective plan.

Naruto moved around to the short side of the container, taking a nice soft gentle grip of it...

**BOOM**

...and swinging it like a bat to send the group of five flying.

Naruto quickly placed the container back in place as gently as he could, still making quite a clang as the captain once more came into view and stuck his head out the window, about to shout out again only to pause as he saw the area was empty.

"About time..." the captain mumbled before feeling a strong breeze move over him, "stupid Land of Waves..." he mumbled as he closed the window and turned around.

"I kinda like the place," Naruto said from his place in the captain's chair, "Bit cold, but it's not too bad." Naruto said as he grinned.

The captain turned and reached out to grab his radio, only for Naruto to hold it up, "Looking for this?" Naruto asked.

The man stared at Naruto for a moment, knowing from the headband around his waist he was a ninja and that he was cornered, "...What do you want?" the captain said cautiously.

Naruto grinned as he looked down at the radio in hand and clipped it onto his belt, "I want... your shipments and the people you ship stuff to." Naruto said as he sat forward and stood.

The Captain waited for a moment before sighing, "I know when I'm beat." he mumbled as he walked over next to Naruto and gestured towards the table he was sitting at. Naruto raised a brow curiously as he moved out of the way, letting the Captain sort out a few sheets of paper, "These are the only sheets of info I get, employees, designated ports, clients and what exactly I'm transporting." he said as he stepped back and gestured to the paperwork.

Naruto smiled and checked the sheets, making sure to keep the Captain within eyesight as he read, 'Geez, it's not just fish and supplies, it's mostly drugs and...' Naruto paused as he got to the last item on the transport list, "Is this serious?" Naruto asked.

The Captain looked over his shoulder and nodded, "Yeah, Gato has the cage fighters kept in the basement of the mansion. He forces them to fist fight the old fashion way for entertainment," the Captain said with disgust in his voice, "Makes me sick." the Captain commented before lighting up his old fashioned pipe.

Naruto turned to face the Captain, watching him cynically before he smirked, "Tell me, what's your name?" Naruto asked.

The Captain proudly straightened his jacket, "Captain Hikaru Zulu, ex-samurai and currently on call for a job with a very patient and forgiving Leaf ninja." he said with a smile directed at Naruto.

The blonde chuckled, "Smart captain with a nice choice in words," Naruto said, earning a smirk from the captain, "Don't worry, you won't be dying by my hand with all you've given here," Naruto said as he gathered the sheets of paper, "Let's get you out of here." Naruto said as he gestured towards the door.

The Captain smiled, obviously happy that he wasn't going to die at the hands of Naruto before he thought over Naruto's words, "Hold on, by _your _hand?" he asked, thinking he was implying that someone else would.

"Well yeah," Naruto said as he walked out the door, "On one hand if Gato finds out he might send someone after you, whereas if you betray my side you will be killed instantly unless someone wants to torture you for a while beforehand." Naruto explained as he lead his now very much obedient and intimidated ally out to the rendezvous point.

##########

Anko wiped some blood from her face before yawning, glancing up as one last sentry walked out from the secret door she had discovered, 'Hm, looks like I missed one... though technically he was inside.' she thought as she cleared her throat.

The man paused and turned, raising a brow at Anko before he looked her up and down and grinned, "Hey pretty lady," he said as he walked closer, "What ya doin down here?" he asked as he licked his teeth.

Anko smiled coyly as she pulled her coat slightly farther apart, making the man stare at her chest, "Oh, y'know," she said as she put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed gently, "Just looking for a man..." she said as she pulled him close.

The man's grin grew as he rubbed his face against her neck, "Mhmm, well I wonder what you need this man for..." he hinted with a low chuckle, gripping Anko's hips and pulling her flush against him.

Anko gently lifted her another hand to form a single handed seal behind his head, placing her mouth near his neck, "Nothing too special, I just wanted a snack," she whispered into his ear as her teeth grew into two fangs and her eyes turned into that of a snake's, 'NINJA ART: SNAKE BITE!' she thought as her fangs sunk into his neck, through his jugular and into his esophagus.

Anko stepped back and returned to normal appearance, licking the blood from her lips with a grin, 'Yummy.' she thought before turning and looking up expectantly.

Hinata appeared in another wobbly shunshin, smiling up at Anko and not caring about the blood, "Ready Sensei." Hinata said.

Anko nodded, "Very good Hinata-chan," she said as she looked down the dark and now lifeless port.

Hinata's eyes picked up Sasuke just as he dashed from his ship, "Sasuke's on his way Sensei, and I can see Naruto has just made a clone and is escorting someone from the area." Hinata reported.

Anko frowned at that as she used her latest victim's body as a chair, looking up at Hinata and patting the spot next to her – the chest of the corpse - "Then let's wait for them here." Anko said before looking up the hill towards the darkest part of the wall, knowing that was the secret entryway.

Hinata's smile fell but after looking at how comfortable Anko seemed to be with not only killing someone, but using them as a chair, she pondered, 'Maybe that's why she sits like that, to make herself see them more as objects and less people?' Hinata thought as she moved over.

A few moments later, Sasuke blurred out of the shadows and skidded to a stop in the shadow behind them, his red eyes glowing through the darkness just like the glowing white eyes of the tigers on his gauntlets, "Sensei, what's a Shipment Seal?" Sasuke asked softly.

Anko turned to him and raised a brow, making Sasuke notice that she and Hinata were sitting on a still bleeding corpse, "It's basically about one hundred Storage Seals tied together in a miniaturized seal matrix. Not too complicated but a bitch to make, why?" she asked.

Sasuke held up the poster and unrolled it, "I got this from a drug ship." he said simply as he rolled it up.

Anko clapped in excitement, "Ooooh, let's use it! Drug ships are always high earning!" she exclaimed as she sent chakra into the seal.

Sasuke gasped as the seal glowed and it's ink changed so that it was only an outline of the previous seal, "So it's full then?" Sasuke asked.

Anko nodded, though Hinata spoke up as she stood, "Naruto-kun is on the way, and it looks like he has a prisoner." Hinata said.

Anko sighed, "Hinata, knock out the prisoner the moment they get here." Anko said as she stood and reached into one of the many special pockets inside he coat.

Naruto and Captain Zulu appeared in a shunshin, Naruto stepping to the side as Hinata stabbed the man's neck with two senbon, rendering him unconscious as Naruto sighed, "Can we come back for him? He's useful and he already doesn't like Gato." Naruto asked.

Anko shrugged, "If you really want to then fine, you can be the one to double back and bring down the mansion upon our exit." Anko said before looking over to the secret passage, "In any case, is the ninja in the overlook still?" she asked Hinata.

The Byakugan user nodded, "Hai Sensei, counting out the riches still." she said.

Anko nodded and stepped away from the wall, looking up at the massive window that she knew from her earlier check that led into the overlook, "Alright, I'll go take down the ninja upstairs while you guys clear the way through these three lower floors. I'll clear out the main room before heading upstairs and then we'll make our way out the front and sort out the explosive tags around the place. Once we make it clear, Naruto will be the one to break it down." Anko explained.

Naruto nodded, "And the signal for you guys being clear is...?" Naruto asked.

Anko shrugged, "How about... a fire? Big piece of symbolism and it means we're definitely taking down Gato's stronghold." she said before looking at Hinata, "Get going, once you guys get to the end of the passage then split up and begin the take-down, remember we've only got about half an hour left until the patrol gets to these docks and any time after that the alarm might raise." she said.

Hinata nodded and stepped back, "Alright, we'll see you up there Anko-sensei." Hinata said.

Anko nodded and leapt up, using her chakra to grip the wall as she ran up to the lowest balcony.

Hinata gestured to the secret passageway her eyes could see, "Nii-kun, there's two guards against the wall opposite this door and one to each side. If you start us off I'm sure Sasuke-kun and I can handle the other two?" Hinata asked.

Naruto nodded and cracked his knuckles as he stepped up to the wall, "So, once we're inside we try to get all there attention right?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke nodded as his amber gauntlet caught up in flames, "One floor at a time remember. If we can't control the situation then word will get out and we'll have more of a fight on our hands then we thought." Sasuke said.

Naruto and Hinata nodded as they too got into ready positions, "One." Hinata said.

"Two," Sasuke continued.

"Three!" Naruto exclaimed as he stepped forward.

**BOOM**

Naruto's punch made the wall crush two enemies while opening the way for Sasuke and Hinata to leap in and kill the other two within the vicinity.

All three of them turned to the fifth and final man in the entryway, he was shaking in fear as he aimed at them with a spear,"H-hey! You three b-better leave or else!" he threatened.

Naruto rolled his eyes before appearing behind the man in a shunshin and knocking him out with a chop to the back of the head, "Yeah yeah, anyway," he said as he turned to Hinata, "What's our next stop?"

Hinata's eyes looks up through the floors, "Well... Sasuke-kun and I will start to head up to the main mansion, you take the next floor yourself and set up the powder kegs on the far side of the room throughout this secret entrance okay?" she clarified.

Sasuke and Naruto nodded in unison before Hinata lead them towards the winding stairwell that lead up to the accessible parts of the mansion.

Hinata paused at the end of the stairwell, crouching underneath a hidden exit, "Above us is the basement, let me clear the first room and then we'll leave the rest on this level to you Nii-kun." she said before reaching up and pulling the hatch slowly as to make minimal noise.

Sasuke and Naruto watched her quietly disappear, waiting a few moments until they heard a weak gasp. Hinata's hand became visible, giving them a silent thumbs up for the all clear.

Naruto and Sasuke sneaked out, glancing around the quiet room and out to the main room of the basement, seeing about ten or so of Gato's goons marching around or talking. He nodded towards the stairwell visible just opposite the room and two men talking between the three of them and the stairs.

Naruto moved towards the window that looked out towards the rest of the floor as Sasuke and Hinata moved out the door into the largest room. Naruto hid in the shadows as he surveyed the room, watching as Sasuke and Hinata walked up the wall and then stealthily crawled across the roof to stay undetected on their way out of the room.

Naruto smirked as they disappeared, letting his Uzugan eyes glow faintly as he looked around, 'Full stealth, don't alarm these guys and don't risk any fires near these explosive barrels.' Naruto thought as he crouched under a table.

He sat still for five minutes, noticing only one man walked past the table at a point where he was completely out of sight. The next time he passed by, Naruto stepped out behind him and covered his mouth with one hand while slitting his throat with a Chakra Scalpel with the other hand. Naruto knelt with the body until it was still and shoved it under the desk he had been hiding in, 'One down, about twenty more to go.' he thought as he came up behind the second man and in a quick move, snapped his neck completely before leaning him against the wall, making it look as though he was just slumping.

Naruto stepped back into the shadows, realizing that though his first two kills were unnoticed, one of the guys seemed to be looking around as if sensing something. Naruto waited silently for his next chance to strike.

##########

"So, we're making a fuss right?" Sasuke asked as he and Hinata waited inside a rather cramped closet.

Hinata nodded, "Soon. Once Anko-sensei gets to the checkpoint then we let loose, you go left and get started on the fire while I go right and go take care of the barracks just down the hallway." she explained.

A few moments later, Sasuke nodded silently as a man walked past, earning a nudge from Hinata, he opened the door for her. Hinata lashed out, stabbing a senbon into the base of the man's skull so deep that when he gasped, the senbon came out his mouth.

Sasuke began forming hand seals as he walked away, "Five minutes remember." he reminded her, saying that's all the time he'd need to burn the main foyer and living floor.

Hinata smirked before dashing off, coming to a stop at the right door before she looked around with her eyes, seeing that there was only two sets of keys for the door in the immediate vicinity, and both of them, were inside the room.

Hinata sighed softly as she began to use one of the most advanced chakra control techniques known to the Leaf – Lock Picking – to open the door quietly as she moved as stealthily and quietly as possible.

##########

Anko paused just above the window of her target and put a hand to her eyeball, poking it casually as her signal for Hinata and Sasuke to get going before she turned around, "Any second now..." she thought out loud as she waited patiently.

##########

Sasuke's Sharingan blazed as he found the perfect spot to start his fire; the upper class sleeping quarters containing the trained thugs and goons who actually knew how to wield their weapons, not that swords would help much in an open fire.

"UCHIHA FIRE STYLE: GRAND FIREBALL JUTSU!"

##########

Anko grinned as an explosion rocked the building, notifying all those outside and inside that something was wrong, "That's my cue!" she shouted as she leapt out away from the building as far as she could.

The rope connecting her waist to the guttering jolted tight, changing her trajectory and flinging her back towards the open window her target had been ferociously working at until the explosion occurred, making him stand up just in time for Anko to swing in the window, "What the hell was-"

**STAB**

Anko yanked her kunai free from the man's neck, using his shirt to wipe the blood before pulling him down behind the desk.

The door to the room slammed open as a man looked inside, about to shout for his boss only to pause as he noticed there was no one sitting at the desk. Seeing the rope leading in the window, the man edged closer, only for his eyes to widen as he circled the table and saw his boss.

The man's further pondering was cut off as was his airways, Anko using the rope to tie around his neck a few times before she kicked him out the window, hanging the man as she turned to continue on her way out.

##########

Hinata quickly locked the door behind her as she exited the barracks, the men inside flailing to grab their weapons and clothes before they realised they couldn't even leave the room.

Hinata looked around before looking up, seeing many cracks in the old building, she laid a few explosive tags at the door before pocketing the keys and turned back the way she'd come.

The fire had begun to spread slowly, coating entire floor with fire as the smoke began to billow upwards.

"Hinata!" Sasuke exclaimed as he ran out of the flames near her completely fine, "We're supposed to head up to the main foyer right?" he asked.

Hinata nodded before the two dashed off to the predesignated area, standing in front of the wall of glass that overlooked the port behind the mansion, "Anko-sensei should be finished her part any moment now." Hinata said before using her eyes to look up through the floors.

Anko came flying into the main foyer through the front door with nearly one hundred of the goons behind her, "I got the whole gang!" she exclaimed before blurring out of view.

The massive gang filled the room as smoke and fire began to billow in, making some leave and most hesitate as they cornered the three Leaf ninjas against the glass wall.

Sasuke glanced up at the grinning Anko, "Any plans Sensei?" he asked as his gauntlet's eyes began to glow, showing he was ready to fight.

Anko looked to Hinata, "How's he doin?"she asked.

Hinata smiled nervously as she looked at Naruto with her Byakugan, "Umm, well, he's ready." she said as the men began to charge.

##########

Naruto placed the last powder barrel in place before rushing down through the secret passageway, sticking his head in to see that the first barrel was within view. He turned and looked outside, seeing his clone looking up at the mansion.

The clone nodded as it saw a man hanging by a rope, hanging down from the building's guttering all the way down to below the glass wall looking out above him, "All ready boss." the clone said.

Naruto nodded and began to retreat as his clone went inside, letting Naruto leap back next to the unconscious Captain Zulu.

The clone formed hand seals as the passageway closed behind it, "FIRE STYLE: FIREBALL JUTSU!"

**BOOOOOOOOOOOOM**

#########

**BOOOOOOOOOOOOM**

Anko turned and grabbed Sasuke and Hinata as the building shuddered, breaking the glass behind them as they leapt through it, grabbing the rope connected to the corpse before the building exploded from the ground up in flames.

Naruto grinned as he watched his team be thrown through the air over the water, giving him time to form a hand seal as he leapt up onto the boat they were falling towards, "SHADOW CLONE JUTSU!" he shouted.

A pair of clones appeared for each person, catching them all safely as he looked up at Gato's mansion, the building slowly burning down as those inside were trapped or killed.

Anko sat up, "Mission accomplished guys!" she said with a bloody grin.

##########

"Dammit! Dammit all!"

"Gato-sama! Please calm down!" one of the many whores Gato had hired for self pleasure pleaded.

The man turned and spat on her, "Shut up wench!" he demanded before walking over to his window and glaring out at the massive fire, 'Originally I thought just killing the bridge builder would end it, but these damn ninjas are undoing my work more and more day by day!' he thought angrily before clenching his fist, wincing at the pain of his broken hand.

Looking down at his broken hand, Gato grinned, 'Even injured as he was, Zabuza's little girly-boy managed to do this... they said they'd able to kill these Leaf ninjas tomorrow, then I can take back the land for myself! Starting firstly with that damned bridge!' he thought with a dark chuckle as he had one of his girls fetch him a drink.

##########

"It's morning guys."

Naruto, Sasuke and Hinata woke quickly at Kakashi's words, the three of them looking up at him as Naruto's analytical eyes took in their Sensei, "You're finally back at one hundred percent." Naruto observed.

Kakashi nodded, "Yep, and while most days we've had you training, we're going to change it up a little bit. I already started the morning by sending out my summons. The three of you will secure this town hall before Naruto and I leave a few clones. I will go see Anko and plan out with her the full plan for today with Tazuna." Kakashi explained.

The trio of gennin nodded as they quickly moved to get ready, "Alright, catch ya later Kakashi-sensei." Naruto said politely.

Sasuke nodded to Kakashi as he climbed out of his tent dressed, pulling on his shoes as he spoke, "Sensei, with you back at one hundred percent that means that Zabuza and his accomplice are likely to be back at fighting strength as well." Sasuke said, glancing at Naruto in recognition of knowing they were his words from earlier.

Kakashi nodded, "Exactly, that's why I need you to secure the town first before you meet up with Anko and I at the bridge in about... say, an hour?" Kakashi estimated.

Hinata stuck her head out of her tent atop the town hall, showing that her eyes were wrapped once more, "Sensei, I think you'll have to move quicker then an hour..." she mumbled before receding back into the tent.

Kakashi and Sasuke raised a brow at her while Naruto frowned. The blonde turned and looked up, seeing the broken top of the cross sitting atop the highest point on the next shelter. As Sasuke and Kakashi talked, Naruto Shunshinned to land standing on it, his Uzugan swirling as he scowled, looking towards the north.

"Shit..." Naruto mumbled as he saw the massive amount of mist enveloping the rivers surrounding the town and almost making Tazuna's previously unmissable bridge basically invisible, "Looks like Hinata-chan was right." Naruto mumbled before his eyes narrowed, seeing a small piece of something shiny fly up through the air from the mist.

Naruto's Uzugan span and he used his medical chakra to make a lens over his eye, zooming in to see the kunai with a few explosive tags trailing behind it on string. He frowned in concern until he noticed it's trajectory, moving off to the east... "Tazuna's house." Naruto realised before seeing the reason Tazuna's had been safe this whole time previously.

Just as the kunai came close, a large snake came out of the ground and ate the kunai before burrowing underground again as if it was no big deal.

Naruto turned and leapt back down to his team as Hinata fully stepped out of her tent and Kakashi was just about to head off, "Sensei, the battle's today." Naruto said.

Kakashi shook his head, "It might be, though I highly doubt it." he said.

Hinata frowned towards Kakashi, "Actually Sensei, I can see massive uses of chakra around the town..." she began.

Naruto took over, "Not to mention the fact that not only is the bridge and town surrounded by Zabuza's mist, but for the first time I know of, we've had a ninja based attack on Tazuna's house in the form of explosive tags and kunai." he said seriously.

Kakashi blinked for a moment of silence, "Oh... well, change of plans, Naruto, lock down this place and leave clones before coming to join us. Sasuke, Hinata, we're going to the bridge since that's where they would be waiting for Tazuna after a failed attempt at his house." Kakashi ordered quickly before leaping off.

Sasuke leapt off after Kakashi as Hinata gave Naruto a quick hug, "Be careful Nii-kun." she said before following after the others.

Naruto nodded and formed a cross hand seal, making twelve Shadow Clones, nine of which ran around to take strategic positions around and on the building while the last three dropped into the hole in the rooftop to set up inside for the day.

Naruto leapt up to the highest point on the roof next to his ninth clone, the two Narutos turning together to look towards the old ports on the southern side of town near where their previous mission had been completed the night before.

The clone frowned, "So when Hinata said 'use_s', _she meant plural didn't she." the clone clarified with the original.

Naruto nodded, "Yep, and I think the hail might be that guy that used ice needles, Haku right?" Naruto asked rhetorically, spotting the darker parts of the mist that was getting closer and closer to the town itself.

The clone nodded, "I'll send the scout out to tell Anko and Tazuna. If Haku is here, then Zabuza is most definitely at the bridge waiting for them." the clone said.

Naruto nodded and turned to look over his shoulder, "Kakashi-sensei will need back-up... but Anko-sensei is guarding Tazuna..." he thought before faced away from his team and towards Haku again, determination written on his face, "I nearly beat Shizune-nee last week... I can last against a Jonin." Naruto mumbled to himself before closing his eyes.

Naruto's Mangekyou Uzugan flared as Naruto leapt up into the air blurring away in a shunshin and towards his enemy.

To protect the Land of Waves, to stop Gato and reignite hope for Tazuna and his family, Naruto Senju of the Uzugan was ready to fight.

##########

"I've got him Sensei, it's just Zabuza and a handful of Gato's men at the bridge..." Hinata reported as she gasped, "Th-the men are killing and hurting everyone... Zabuza is just sitting at the back of the group waiting." she said before refocusing on the two in front of her.

Kakashi and Sasuke nodded as Kakashi spoke up, "Alright, how many and what are there positions?" Kakashi asked.

"Three goons on each side of the bridge throwing people to their deaths and the one in the middle shouting orders and killing people." Hinata said.

Kakashi turned to Sasuke, "Then you two are to focus on the thugs on either side of the bridge, I'll take down the one by himself and then approach Zabuza. Got it?"

Sasuke and Hinata nodded, ""Hai Sensei!"" they shouted before leaping up onto the building they were hiding behind.

Kakashi leapt up after them, watching as they both formed hand seals quickly, Sasuke finishing with a Tiger Seal while Hinata finished the hand seals Anko had taught her by ending on a Ram seal.

"FIRE STYLE: FIREBALL JUTSU!" Sasuke shouted, burning all but one of his targets in the single move.

"EARTH STYLE: PITFALL!" she shouted as she slammed her hands on the bridge, making a hole appear in the bridge under the closest two men.

Kakashi landed with a roll, his two kunai flashing up to stab his target in the ribs before he leapt up, punching the corpse off of his weapon as he charged at Zabuza.

Sasuke blurred forward with his Bullet Punch, knocking his third enemy off the bridge to fall to his death while Hinata got in close to her final enemy and systematically made his limbs useless before knocking him out.

The two gennin looked up as Kakashi's weapons plunged into the calm Zabuza's stomach.

Zabuza's eyes opened, "About damn time." he said before splashing into nothing more then a puddle.

Kakashi turned to his team, "Mark the end of the bridge! We can't let anyone close to the battle and we definitely can't let him into the town." Kakashi ordered.

Sasuke nodded and leapt back as did Hinata, the two of them ready to protect the town from Zabuza before Hinata gasped, making Sasuke glance at her with his Sharingan, "What is it Hinata?" he asked.

Hinata turned, looking far into the distance with a slight frown on her face, "Nii-kun... he's heading towards the other side of the town, he's... he just left my field of vision." she said with worry in her voice.

Sasuke scowled, 'Dammit Naruto... we might need you if that other guy turns up.' he thought in concern as he sent chakra to his gauntlets, the mouths on them dropping open in preparation as his eyes spotted a chakra signature, "There, from the left." Sasuke said.

"Yeah, I see him," Hinata said as the first clang of metal against metal rang through the mist, "Zabuza is here."

##########

Haku opened his eyes, the hail falling heavily around him as he looked up towards the first building he had seen that actually was still whole, "Looks like I was noticed after all." Haku mumbled as he took out a single senbon and stood facing down the main road.

After a few moments of silence, Naruto faded into view thanks to the shunshin, "You should've stayed in sick bay today." Naruto said with a serious expression.

Haku began to walk to the side, looking for any medically recognizable weaknesses in Naruto's stance, not noticing he had already done the same to Haku in a single glance and finding that Haku's wound was healed for the most part, it was still weak.

Haku paused before taking his mask off, looking at Naruto with a cold gaze as he took his hair out, feeling the seriousness of the fight and deciding to go all out from the beginning.

Haku and Naruto stopped circling each other, back in their original positions before the both suddenly dashed forward Haku launching a senbon before dashing after it. Naruto's eyes glowed as he did a front flip over the senbon, his foot coming down to hit the ground just before Haku got to him, "HEAVEN'S KICK OF PAIN!"

**BOOM**

Haku dove away from the debris, holding a hand seal that threw the now sharpened pieces of hail at Naruto as the blonde exploded in a puff of smoke. Haku paused before hearing a soft rumbling, turning to look at the building she had first sensed Naruto inside of before a steel fridge flew out of the window of the building, forcing Haku to dodge once more before Haku looked up, seeing the building creaking as it fell towards him.

Haku leapt away, landing atop the building across the road from the building Naruto had collapsed and looking down as the dust settled, the blonde calmly walking into view as he looked up at Haku with his Uzugan.

'His strength is monstrous, if he manages to hit me even once I may take a fatal injury.' Haku thought defensively.

'His Ice powers are formidable... I sure hope I can keep up with this guy.' Naruto thought as his Uzugan swirled and he blurred away in a shunshin.

Haku leapt forward as Naruto appeared behind Haku, punching into the building and making it fall just like the first as the two entered a stand off once more.

##########

Chapter End.

Next Chapter: Fight for the Land of Waves

Hope to hear from you all! Please R&amp;R, alky out!


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen: Fight for the Land of Waves

"Gah!" Zabuza grunted as he received a kick to the chest from Kakashi so that he could try and cleave the man's right arm off.

Kakashi's Sharingan let him dodge before he retreated a few steps and dove to dodge the next slash, throwing a kunai that Zabuza lifted his blade to block.

Lowering his blade, Zabuza received a fist to the face.

**SPLASH**

Zabuza appeared behind Kakashi and hacked him in half.

**SPLASH**

Zabuza spun to take Kakashi off guard, only to frown as Kakashi didn't appear behind him. He looked up, having heard a grunt just before Kakashi's kick almost hit him in the head.

Kakashi landed with a slide, turning to face Zabuza only to realize he had once more lost the man inside the mist, 'Damn... I'm only able to evade and counter in this mist... I need to find a way to track him...' Kakashi thought as he listened intently for the next attack, 'Why the heck did I think it was a good idea to use his blade against him?' Kakashi thought with a sigh.

##########

Naruto lifted his arms in a cross block, stopping Haku's fist cold as the two pushed against each other for a moment, "Why do you fight so hard!" Naruto grunted before pulling his arms apart, throwing Haku away from him.

The hermaphrodite flipped with the movement, landing horizontally against a nearby building as he looked down at Naruto, "I have to! I have something precious to protect and no Leaf ninja can stop me!" Haku shouted as he formed hand seals.

Naruto stepped back as some of the hail around him froze in mid-air, 'Damn, I have to dodge!' Naruto thought as he leapt up into the air.

The shards of ice ripped through the air after him, barely missing as Naruto's Uzugan slowed down his perception of time so that he could dodge successfully. Haku charged forward at Naruto, hoping that Naruto's Taijutsu was slow enough that Haku could land s senbon or two to the right spots.

Naruto dodged the first stab before catching the second one with his hand, letting the senbon stab into his palm so that he could grip Haku's fist.

**CRUNCH**

Haku twitched in pain as with a single sharp twist, his hand was broken. Naruto's other hand came around for a punch that Haku managed to block by stepping into his guard and rotating under the punch.

The two spun away from each other, both of them holding a single handed seal as they turned to face one another, "ICE STYLE: ONE THOUSAND NEEDLES OF DEATH!" Haku exclaimed as he leapt back.

Naruto's eyes took in all of the needles as his chakra fluctuated around him, seeing only two safe paths, he took the first one, blurring in a Shunshin towards Haku, landing fist first against the ice user's chest.

**SPLASH**

Naruto's eyes widened as the Water Clone he had destroyed froze around his fist, forcing him to dodge it's one sluggish punch before he turned and lifted the clone, destroying it as he slammed it into the ground.

'My needles aren't fast enough to get a decent hit in,' Haku thought from his hiding place as he finished hand seals, 'This will take a lot of my chakra, but I'm sure i'll be more then fast enough!'

Naruto turned as he felt Haku's chakra fluctuation, clapping his hands together in a Tiger Hand seal, "FIRE STYLE: HALO FLAME!" Naruto shouted before spitting out the halo of fire.

Haku stepped out of hiding calmly as the fire approached, "This is it! DEMONIC JUTSU: CRYSTAL ICE MIRRORS!" Haku exclaimed.

Naruto's eyes widened as his fire was blocked by a single massive mirror of ice, Naruto moved closer to try and get to Haku, only for the massive mirror to shatter into twenty one body-sized mirrors in a dome around him.

Naruto gulped, 'Uh oh, this can't be good.' Naruto thought as he was surrounded, looking around at the mirrors that had trapped him in.

##########

**CLANG**

Kakashi grunted, 'Damn, I totally thought I had the upper hand here,' he thought as he dropped his finally cut through kunai, taking out a new one as he stood defensively, taking stock of the slash down his right arm, 'But somehow he made his blade sharper, enough to get through my weapons in two or three strikes.' Kakashi thought as he closed his eyes and listened.

The mist was too thick to see, and from what Kakashi could tell, Zabuza not only knew that, but he also knew about the Sharingan's need for direct eye contact, keeping his eyes closed for the most of their time in the mist.

'Any moment now...' Kakashi thought just before hearing the tiniest of noises to his left.

Kakashi turned right, blocking Zabuza's blade before the Leaf Jonin performed a donkey kick, destroying the clone behind him and pushing the real Zabuza he was locked with off balance for just the right moment.

"Ah!" Zabuza grunted Kakashi's kunai just barely missed stabbing into his chest and cut along his shoulder, slowing down his swordplay just slightly but giving him the opportunity to kick out at Kakashi's stomach.

The Copy ninja parried the kick, launching one of his own in return which Zabuza took to the stomach.

The two separated for a moment, Kakashi taking a defensive stance once more as Zabuza disappeared into the mist. Kakashi glanced down at the ground by his side, smirking at the blood there, 'Good, that's all I needed to know.' he thought as he suddenly leapt backwards, dodging the blade that slammed into the bridge from somewhere in the mist before a blur grabbed it and it disappeared again.

Kakashi sighed, 'This is going to be harder then I thought...'

##########

"And you're certain about this?" Anko asked from her place in Tazuna's lounge room.

The Naruto Scout clone nodded, "Yeah Sensei, the real me is probably fighting Haku right now, and Kakashi-sensei and the others have gone to Tazuna's bridge to fight Zabuza." Scout Clone said.

Anko sighed heavily before standing and looking at the stressed out Tazuna who was sitting on the other couch, 'Can't leave Tazuna alone... can't take him with me...' Anko thought for a moment of silence as her frown steadily increased, "Well, gotta risk it for the biscuit." Anko said out loud before pointing at Tazuna, "Grab that cloak from yesterday and put it on now, we're leaving." Anko ordered before looking at the clone.

Scout saluted, "Anything else ma'am?" it asked.

Anko thought for a moment before nodding, "Can you shunshin ahead of us to Hinata and Sasuke? Tell them to come towards me to get Tazuna and then to split up, one of you to hide Tazuna somewhere near the bridge and the other to find and assist Naruto in whatever he's doing. I'm gonna help Kakashi finish this quick." she said.

Tazuna ran out of the room to grab his gear as Scout nodded, "Hai Anko-sensei, any messages for the boss himself?" it asked.

Anko nodded with a smirk, "Yeah, you better not be doing something stupid kid. We'll be needing a medic after this." she said to the clone.

Scout smiled, "Hai Sensei!" it exclaimed before clapping it's hands together in a Ram seal and blurring away in a shunshin.

##########

Scout blurred into view behind his team-mates, "Guys, I'm a clone, Anko sent me." Scout said immediately.

Sasuke turned with a frown, "About damn time Senju, what'd she say?" Sasuke asked.

Scout chuckled at his words, knowing he was just nervous and wanting to do something, "You two head back towards Tazuna's house until you find him and Anko, then someone goes and locates the real me while the other hides Tazuna somewhere around here so that Anko or Kakashi can get to him easily." the clone said before looking into the mist, "You guys got that?" the clone asked.

Hinata nodded as did Sasuke, "I think I should look for him, my Byakugan is the best searching tool." Hinata said quickly.

Sasuke frowned, not wanting to be the one looking after Tazuna, but wanting to be close to Kakashi's battle so that he could see what happened, "...Alright, let's get moving." Sasuke said before he and Hinata dashed off.

Scout clone nodded before turning to the mist, frowning as it tried to see a chakra signature. It formed and dispelled a Shadow Clone to inform the real Naruto about what was going on.

The clone looked up before tilting his head in thought and leaping up onto the yet to be used street light just inside the mist itself, giving him a view of Kakashi's chakra signature and small flashes of Zabuza's signature, 'Geez, how is Sensei even following him in this.' the clone thought rhetorically as it buckled down for the fight.

##########

"Sensei!" Hinata shouted as she spotted Anko leading Tazuna through the streets with her Byakugan.

Sasuke nodded, "Let's go." he said, gesturing for her to take lead.

They leapt over a few more rooftops before leaping up higher into the air and pivoting, landing in front of Anko as Hinata spoke immediately, "Sensei may need help now." Hinata said urgently, spurring their purple haired Sensei to sprint off with a grin.

Tazuna looked to Sasuke, "So kid, where're we heading?" he asked.

Sasuke turned and nodded to Hinata, the girl turning and leaping off before Sasuke turned back to Tazuna, "Follow me, we're going to the lookout near your bridge." he said.

Tazuna began to jog after the quick pacing Sasuke, "Are you sure? Won't that be like, right near by the guy trying to kill me?" he asked in obvious fear.

Sasuke nodded, "Yep, last place he'd expect us to have you, within earshot."

##########

Naruto panted as he reappeared from his shunshin and Haku reappeared in each and every one of the mirrors.

"You're slowing down." Haku said as six more needles slipped into his grasp, all twenty-one's copies hands...

Naruto sighed as he yanked the one senbon he had been hit with from his shoulder, 'Six times twenty one is one hundred and twenty six... shit, sometimes I wish I didn't calculate things like that.' Naruto thought in his head as he clapped his hands together in a Ram seal.

To outsiders, the two shapes in the dome of ice disappeared completely for nearly fifteen seconds straight while in reality, there had been a miniature war.

Naruto blurred around at full speed with his shunshin, his Uzugan keeping track of Haku as the Ice user's jutsu allowed him to travel at equal speeds while continuously launching a barrage of needles at him.

Naruto was forced to hold at least a one handed seal as he did his best to dodge the senbon, but suddenly, his mind fluctuated with the memories of his clones, throwing him off guard for just a moment in which Haku used to full advantage.

Naruto shouted as six senbon stabbed into his shoulder, though he managed to stop the rest of the attack as he clapped his hands in a shunshin to charge towards one of the gaps in the jutsu in front of him, nearly managing to escape this time only to be kicked in the stomach by a blur that he only barely managed to block thanks to his eyes.

Naruto panted as he wiped the blood from his mouth from the force of the kick damaging his insides, though he wasn't worried since his medical chakra was already taking care of it. The thing that had him worried was the six needles sticking into his back...

Naruto's eyes widened in realization, 'Six, I only ever see six. Not one hundred and twenty six...' he thought before smirking, 'Meaning it's not clones, it's just the one...' Naruto thought as he decided to ignore the needles in his back and take a defensive stance with his knees close together.

Haku's eyes narrowed as his stance changed from the one he had been using to a narrower stance with one arm remaining by his side while the other he held extended in front of him, 'Something's changed...' Haku thought as his broken hand seized in pain, 'I have to finish this before he comes up with something or notices my pattern.' Haku thought before blurring out of the mirror behind Naruto and launching a handful of senbon.

Naruto stayed focusing on the Haku in front of him, just barely bending his knees slightly and lining up Haku's airborne needles with those already lodged into his back.

Haku paused for a moment, amazed that Naruto had managed to deflect most of them while two of the senbon actually drove the others already inside his back deeper.

Naruto turned with a smirk, his Uzugan swirling to form the Mangekyou, "That proves it, there's definitely only one of you." he said confidently before clapping his hands together in the Ram seal.

Haku quickly used his mirrors to flash at full speed, moving out of the way of Naruto's fist as he leapt at one of the mirrors, 'I know he's physically powerful, but he'll never break through this jutsu!' Haku thought as he entered one mirror and redirected back towards Naruto while flinging out more senbon.

Naruto's punch was slowed and weakened as the senbon stabbed into his outstretched arm, the genning turning to glare at Haku only to receive a punch to the face.

Naruto rolled onto his feet and wiped the smallest bit of blood from his lip, 'Damn, this is getting out of hand!' he thought as he moved away from the mirrors again to come to a stop in the centre of the formation of mirrors.

Unseen by Naruto, Haku sat inside the recently cracked mirror, 'His slowed punch managed to crack my ice?!' Haku thought in amazement as he began to pant, 'I now more waiting, it doesn't matter about saving chakra any more, I have to beat him so that I can fight another day for Zabuza!' Haku thought as senbon appeared in all of their hands again.

Naruto smirked as he dropped his fighting stance, his Mangekyou flaring as his eyes glowed blue, 'Here it comes!' he thought as Haku's senbon were sent flying.

"SUSANO'O!"

##########

Sasuke led Tazuna quickly through the tower to the stairwell, the two of them only stopping when they got to the highest level to look at the mist out the window.

Tazuna frowned, not being able to tell what was going on through the mist overhanging the bridge, "Can you see anything?" Tazuna asked.

Sasuke nodded with wide Sharingan eyes, 'I guess from this angle there's less mist to look through, and with my Sharingan, I can see their chakra signatures easily enough...' he thought before his eyes narrowed at the third chakra signature that just swung up onto the bridge to land next to Kakashi's chakra signature, "Anko has made made contact." Sasuke reported for Tazuna's sake.

The old man nodded as he sat down on a nearby step, "Those two will be able to handle him right? Two Jonin against one, they should win easily now." Tazuna asked hopefully.

Sasuke shook his head, "There's two of them against one yes, but Zabuza still has them blinded... I don't think it's as simple as that."

##########

Kakashi turned as Anko landed next to him, the two of them high-fiving on arrival, "How's it goin Scarecrow?" Anko asked with a grin.

Kakashi eye smiled, "I've been better, and you Anko?" he asked before ducking.

Zabuza's blade swung through the area where Kakashi's head had been, letting Anko reach out quickly and grip the massive blade by the hole at it's tip, pulling her through the air as she formed a hand seal, "Wheeeeeeeeeeeeee!" she shouted as if on a ride, flying through the air and using the momentum to swung herself down at Zabuza.

The water user swung his blade even faster, flinging the oddly excited woman up above him as he punched up at her back.

Anko barely managed to block the punch with her shin-guard, a senbon appearing in each of her hands that she swung down to stab into his arm.

Zabuza moved as quickly as he could, managing to evade one while the other senbon stabbed into his hand. Anko smirked, thinking she had made a good hit but not seeing Zabuza's blade swinging back to cleave her in two.

Kakashi appeared back-to-back with Zabuza, his hands on both of the man's wrists to stop the move and lock the two of them in place, the two glared over their shoulder at one another as Kakashi's Sharingan locked with Zabuza's one eye, "Are you ready for this Zabuza?" Kakashi asked.

Zabuza temporarily glared over at Anko, the woman having only just now turned to see the blade he had only inches from her neck, "If you move to try anything my blade will cleave through her Kakashi, no hand seals, a single step. I'll kill her." Zabuza promised.

Kakashi chuckled, "Y'know, I thought we'd get into a situation where something like this would happen," he said as his Sharingan began to spin, "Which is why I've been practicing a few skills of my own, like activating my signature jutsu with my Sharingan!" Kakashi exclaimed as his grip on Zabuza tightened, "LIGHTNING BLADE: SURGE!"

From Kakashi's hands, a burst of unconstrained lightning chakra shot through Zabuza, making the man shout out in pain and drop his blade.

Anko rolled away from the falling blade before her feet hit the ground and she shot forward at Zabuza, her kunai aiming for his chest.

Zabuza stretched out his leg, doing his best to ignore the massive volumes of pain caused by the electricity so that he could place the bottom of his foot on the flat side of his blade, using some chakra to stick it to his foot as he kicked forward, knocking Anko back with the blade and throwing his weight into Kakashi.

Kakashi shouted as he was forced to let go of Zabuza to catch his own weight, barely turning in time to receive Zabuza's fist to the face. Though the time wasn't wasted by Anko, the woman swinging Zabuza's own blade to cleave him in half.

Knowing his blade perfectly, Zabuza leaned back in a matrix dodge to avoid the weapon as he sent his chakra above him and into his blade, "WATER STYLE: CUTTING EDGE!" Zabuza shouted.

Anko shouted as she was forced to drop the sword, a blade of water cutting her hands before she used her ultimate go-to-taijutsu move.

Zabuza fell back from his dodge, moving to get away into the mist once more only for Anko's chakra enhanced dive to lead her skull first into Zabuza's nuts.

Anko rolled away as Zabuza's shout moved up an octave, letting Kakashi's thrown shuriken stab into Zabuza's back in three places.

Zabuza shouted in pain but dove forward, the two quickly moving after him only to realise that he had once more disappeared into the mist, "Damn..." Kakashi mumbled.

Anko smirked, ignoring the red mark on her forehead, "No worries, he'll be slowed down big time, and now he's leaking!" she said while pointing at the few blood drops on the floor.

Kakashi nodded, turning as he thought he heard something clatter to the ground, he smirked behind his mask, seeing a single and very bloody kunai on the bridge before the mist began to get lighter, but move quicker around them.

Anko frowned as the mist swirled around them, "This is new..." she mumbled, earning nothing more then a nod from Kakashi, "...are we seriously just waiting for him to come to us?" she asked.

Kakashi shrugged, "No... now I can find him," Kakashi said as he flipped open a clasp on his jacket, "Can you slow him down just a little more? I need time to do what I'm planning if we're gonna take him alive." Kakashi said.

Anko blinked before tearing up as she was a child with her favorite toy taken from her, "y-you mean, I can't bleed him after this?" she asked.

Kakashi sighed, "Anko, I really don't think this is the time for your games." he said before the two of them were forced to dodge a flurry of kunai from the mist.

The two came up back-to-back again, Anko grinning as she giggled, "He's playing from a distance now, scaredy cat."

Kakashi chuckled, 'She's right, his injuries have made him even more wary,' he thought as he brought up his kunai to stop a shuriken that was heading for his thigh, 'Which means he'll be less likely to attack us directly,' thought as his chuckle faded and he sighed, "This is exactly why I was happy with him coming to us, one good hit and then my work would've been done." he complained.

##########

Hinata's eyes widened behind the headband as they saw the advanced chakra of Naruto's maneuver, but she also saw the one potential weakness due to the Byakugan.

For a few minutes now, Naruto's Susano'o protected him from Haku's barrage as he dashed around inside it, trying and slowly getting better at predicting Haku's movements. The Susano'o ribcage protect Naruto even between the ribs, but above the ribcage, there was a small gap, no larger then a foot. She watched as one of Haku's senbon fell through the air after bouncing off of the Susano'o, entering this small hole behind Naruto, something that this time, Hinata knew Haku had noticed.

Hinata watched as Haku dashed from every mirror one at a time, most of the needles falling to the ground without Naruto even doing anything as he focused leapt forward and nearly managed to grab Haku's leg before Haku entered another mirror in front of him, only to simultaneously fall towards him from the mirror at the top of the formation, another round of senbon appearing in Haku's hands.

Hinata moved without thinking leaping as far as she could from the rooftop she stood on, being cut by the hail in the air as she got a direct shot at Naruto, 'Nii-kun's going to get hit from above!' Hinata thought as she clapped her hands in a seal just like Naruto had taught her.

"SHUNSHIN NO JUTSU!" Hinata exclaimed before blurring forward.

Hinata appeared just in time, taking Haku's thrown weapons to the shoulder, throat and chest as she moved over Naruto's head, the blonde's eyes widening as he saw her fall to his left, "Hinata?!" he exclaimed in shock, completely forgetting about Haku for a crucial moment.

Haku's fist slammed into the top of Naruto's head, stunning him for a moment before Haku's shoulders hit the Susano'o ribcage, trapping Haku before the ribs shattered outwards, throwing Haku to the ground as the chakra shards stabbed into the many mirrors around Naruto, actually managing to crack almost all of them but three.

Naruto stared at Hinata, noticing that she basically looked dead, and if not for his mother's training and his special eyes, he would've truly believed it, 'The needles have hit special points in her body, making a false death, and I can still see her chakra is flowing, but it's getting slower... if she's not helped soon she really will die.' he realized before his eyes closed.

Haku got up quickly, seeing that the majority of his mirrors were useless, he made a single handed seal, "SECRET JUTSU: ICE MIRRORS: PIERCING SHARDS!" Haku shouted.

##########

Naruto's eyes opened inside his mind, looking up at the fox and grinning, "You'll be able to feel this or something right?" Naruto asked as the door into the cage opened.

Kyuubi grinned in return as his chakra flooded the room around Naruto, **"I'll be watching yes, do not waste this chakra, you may need it sooner then you think." **Kyuubi said Naruto before the red chakra swirled in around him.

Naruto closed his eyes as the chakra climbed up his back and began to flow into the Curse Seal, making Naruto grin in success.

#########

Naruto's eyes snapped open, crimson colored Mangekyou Uzugan with a slitted pupil taking in every single shard flying towards him. The Curse Seal covered the entire left half of his body, seemingly slowing down time for Naruto as he turned, his Susano'o ribcage reappearing once more to deflect all of them as he ran near Hinata, a single chakra arm growing from his Susano'o to grip Hinata's whole body and pick her up as Naruto charged ahead.

His eyes snapped to the left as Haku appeared in the mirrors once more, the closest mirror flying at him through the air like a battle shuriken towards Hinata as Haku shot from the second mirror behind it towards Naruto.

Naruto timed his side flip perfectly, his Susano'o acting as though he was still moving forward normally while he spun horizontally to punch the soaring mirror right in the center, making it shatter loudly as his ribcage deflected Haku's senbon and kick, letting Naruto send even more chakra through his Susano'o to form a left arm of chakra, though it and the left side of the Susano'o construct was covered in the marks of the Curse Seal, the massive chakra fist slamming Haku's chest and throwing him through the air until he slammed into a building, becoming embedded in the wall itself as spider web cracks reached out from the unconscious Haku.

Naruto's eyes watched as Haku fell limply down onto his face, the blonde turning and quickly forming hand seals, making his Demonic chakra turn into medical chakra and making the green chakra to thick it had bubbles popping around it in the form of chakra at the same time his Susano'o seemingly turned back into green chakra flames before dispersing.

Naruto knelt over Hinata, slowly pulling out the first needle and healing all the damage from it with his enhanced medical chakra before moving onto the next needle, every now and then glancing up at Haku to confirm he was still out cold.

'I'll save you Hinata, don't you worry.'

##########

"Hit it!" Kakashi shouted as he leapt away from Anko and into the mist.

Anko turned with a grin towards the oncoming Water Clones, flashing through hand seals for one of her favorite Ninjutsu, "FIRE STYLE: FLAME SERPANT STRIKE!" she shouted as she continued spinning while spewing forth fire.

The fire formed a massive coiled snake, burning through the clones and a large amount of the mist around Anko before it struck out towards the broken end of the bridge since even though they didn't know where he was exactly, they knew he was in that general direction.

The serpent uncoiled and sprang into the distance, removing the majority of the mist and actually giving Anko and Kakashi an unfocussed view of the real Zabuza.

Anko charged forward towards Zabuza, throwing a flurry of senbon to get his attention and make him stand defensively.

"EARTH STYLE: SUMMONING: FANGED PURSUIT JUTSU!"

Anko leapt up into the air as the ground under Zabuza's feet cracked, making the man look down before a pack of ninja hounds appeared from the bridge, biting into his body and holding him in place as Anko punched Zabuza square in the face.

Zabuza fell back through the air as Kakashi's biggest dog bit down on the handle of Zabuza's sword and dragged it away while the other managed to flip him as he fell, slamming him onto his head and knocking him into a daze as Anko landed in front of him and pulled out another handful of senbon, "Well, that was fun while it lasted." she said with a grin.

Kakashi stood from his scroll and eye smiled, "Looks like we're-"

"Well would ya look at that!"

###########

"Z-z-zabuza..."

Naruto turned to Haku, his Curse Mark and the Kyuubi's chakra receded as Hinata was now fine but unconscious, 'What's he...' Naruto thought as he watched Haku.

Haku was crawling weakly towards the other side of the village, "I have to..."

Naruto frowned as he stood, forming a chakra scalpel as he began to march over to Haku, 'No more, you won't be killing Tazuna.' Naruto thought.

Tears were in Haku's eyes, "I have to... protect..."

Naruto paused, hearing Haku's words as he stood over the ice user, 'Protect?'

"Zabuza-sama!" Haku wheezed as he continued crawling weakly.

Naruto was silent for a moment before he shook his hands, dropping the Chakra Scalpel as he formed hand seals and knelt over Haku.

Haku paused as he looked back, seeing Naruto fix Haku's legs and begin to give him some chakra, "What are you doing?" Haku asked.

Naruto stood, not healing Haku's hands, "You've got enough chakra to keep going and now you can run. Go get your Sensei and keep running. If I see you again, I won't hesitate to kill you both." Naruto said before turning back to Hinata.

Haku stared after him for a moment before he pushed himself up onto his feet, "...Thank you..." Haku whispered before stumbling over to his one and only mirror left.

Naruto smiled as he swept a green glowing hand over Hinata's forehead, her eyes slowly opening as Naruto's eyes began to spin. Naruto stood and formed a hand seal, making a Shadow Clone that knelt over Hinata as he turned away from her, "I'll be back, just rest."

Naruto watched as Haku fell into the mirror before it melted into water, 'Now..' he thought calmly as he made a Ram seal.

##########

Naruto appeared in a shunshin where his clone had been previously watching from before Anko's Flame Serpent accidentally destroyed it, looking down as Anko stood over Zabuza with her senbon, Naruto sighed, 'Well, I guess Haku can't save him after all.'

"Well would ya look at that!"

The mist began to clear as Naruto, Kakashi and Anko looked over to the voice, seeing Gato with a small army of thugs, having arrived on the massive boat which apparently had it's sail set alight by Anko's manoeuvre before they took formation at the end of the bridge.

Suddenly, Anko was flung back from the ice mirror that appeared between her and Zabuza, Kakashi's eyes widened as Haku appeared to protect Zabuza, 'Shit! I have to act now!' Kakashi thought as he rushed through hand seals.

Naruto leapt into the air, catching Anko as Kakashi chakra sprung up and Haku acted quickly to protect Zabuza, "You okay Sensei?" Naruto asked.

Anko nodded as she wiped blood from her cheek, showing to Naruto she no longer was holding the senbon, "I got to him first," she said with a frown, "Though I'm sad to say we won't be taking him alive."

Haku landed heavily on Zabuza's the ice user's eyes full of tears as he lashed out, dispelling the four ninja hounds with a kunai before Haku began to pull the senbon needles that Anko had thrust into his body out slowly.

Zabuza's eyes opened weakly, knowing that even though he was once more conscious, he was likely going to die since he could feel his heart beating around the two senbon lodged right through it.

"LIGHTNING BLADE!"

Everyone but Haku turned to stare as Kakashi stood with his chakra glowing in his hand, the pure lightning chakra shooting off bolts as he dashed forward towards the weakened Zabuza and Haku, intent on bringing this ninja battle to a close before they had to deal with Gato as well.

"SUSANO'O!"

Naruto appeared in a shunshin, standing over Haku and Zabuza with his Susano'o around him, blocking Kakashi's strike and clashing with it as he gritted his teeth.

Kakashi's eyes widened, no longer thinking about Zabuza or Haku as he had a flashback to the exact same situation.

Just for a moment, he saw Rin standing in front of him, his hand plunged through her chest.

Kakashi stopped his jutsu as it began to crack a rib of the Susano'o, "Naruto, what are you doing?!" Kakashi asked.

Naruto looked over his shoulder at Haku, ignoring Kakashi as he growled at the ice user, "I told you to run idiot!" Naruto shouted.

Haku was shaking as he cried over Zabuza, the dying Jonin reaching up and running a hand through Haku's hair gently, "S-sorry, Haku, looks like we won't be getting to that place together," Zabuza said weakly before his hand fell to his side, "Don't fight the Leaf nin... just... don't waste your...life..."

Haku gasped as Zabuza's whole body slackened, she looked at his face. He had died, 'Zabuza-sama...' Haku thought sadly as he began to cry.

The group was quiet as Gato began to laugh, his loud voice carrying over the bridge, "What the hell is this? I thought ninjas were supposed to be tough! No matter," he said before turning to the hundred or so thugs he had hired, "Kill em all and let's move into town, we're taking back this dump whether they like it or not!" Gato shouted as he pointed forward with his cane.

Naruto's Susano'o faded as Haku stood, "Don't fight us Haku." Naruto ordered.

Haku nodded, "I wouldn't dream of it..." he began before turning and smiling sadly at the others, "My life is going to mean something." Haku said before charging forward towards the oncoming stampede of thugs.

Naruto, Anko and Kakashi's eyes widened as Haku held a one handed seal, his chakra latching back onto his last mirror, his last piece of chakra, "SECRET JUTSU: ICE MIRROR: PIERCING SHARDS!"

The ice mirror shattered and shot over Haku's shoulders, killing many of the thugs directly in front of her as they cleared a path between Haku and Gato, giving him a pathway to begin to fight his way down with the only thing he had left, Taijutsu and a broken hand.

Accepting the fact that his hand was useless, Haku used it as a shield from the spears he couldn't dodge, fighting his way out of sight as the stampede began to approach the tired Kakashi, Anko and Naruto, "Not good." Anko mumbled with a frown.

Naruto sighed, "Ah dammit!" he shouted as he stepped forward and crossed his fingers, "SHADOW CLONE JUTSU!" Naruto shouted, forming seven clones that took Taijutsu stances before running forward, taking out groups at a time before they were destroyed.

Kakashi chuckled at Naruto's technique, "Well, I can't do much, but it's not a bad idea," Kakashi said as he lowered his headband over his Sharingan, "WATER CLONE JUTSU!" Kakashi shouted.

Having copied Zabuza's technique, Kakashi was now able to make the clones from what was left of the mist as he made thirty water clones, restricted to chakra-less Taijutsu, but useful against thugs nonetheless in large numbers.

Anko stepped back and grinned, taking out her two ceramic kunai, the white of their elongated blades glistening as she stepped back to take out those who were getting through.

"""HAA!"""

To the left of the bridge, a second boat hit the bridge as more thugs began to rush through right next to Kakashi, making Anko frowned as she realised she probably wouldn't be able to stop all of them.

Suddenly, Naruto's clone appeared in a shunshin with a fight-capable Hinata on his back, the clone dispelling as Hinata took a low stance, a Shadow Clone of her own appearing back to back with her, ""EIGHT TRIGRAMS: SYNCRONISED SIXTY FOUR PALMS!"" the two of them shouted as they lashed out.

Taking each side of the Trigrams style so that Hinata could do the sixty four version as opposed to just the thirty two, they two Hinatas blurred around the back-half of the bridge, taking out most of those that Anko missed just before a shadow moved over their heads.

"JUNGLE DROP!"

Having leapt from the tower he was hiding Tazuna in, Sasuke spun through the air, slamming his clawed gauntlets on the first thug's shield and cutting straight through it with his claws before he used his new 'Jungle Style' to dash around quickly and begin wiping out all the thugs who came near.

Men fought. Men died. Weapons lay scattered as did a few limbs.

Nearly twenty minutes later, less then ten thugs stood at the back of the formation, having paused their attacks against those who remained since they were watching the events at the end of the bridge.

The Konoha ninjas looked up at Haku, the ice user panting as he had used someone else's spear to stab completely through the sternum to stick out the back. Haku stumbled forward, knocking Gato backwards off the bridge to break his neck against the boat's deck below, very much dead.

Haku turned, letting the others see the three knives stabbed into Haku's body and the hatchet buried into his stomach. With each step, a bucket load of blood poured from Haku, prompting Naruto to begin to walk towards him as Haku fell to his knees.

Naruto caught Haku's weak body bridal style, "What do you want me to do?" Naruto asked quietly.

Haku's eyes didn't even register Naruto as Haku weakly reached out towards his deceased Sensei, "Please..." Haku begged.

Naruto carried Haku over towards Zabuza as the last men attacked at the uncomprehending Naruto's back.

"BULLET PUNCH!" Sasuke shouted as he blocked the punch and began to defend Naruto's back.

Hinata landed next to Sasuke just a moment later before the two of them took the fight forward, not letting them get close to Naruto as the boy knelt and lay Haku down next to Zabuza.

Haku shook with tears as he lay on his side, lovingly stroking Zabuza's still face like a young woman mourning over the loss of her husband as Naruto formed hand seals to heal her, "No... please..." Haku weakly, trying to push away Naruto's hands.

The blonde paused, "If I don't heal you you'll die." Naruto said simply, ready to continue healing Haku the moment he realized his options.

"No," Haku said weakly, making Naruto pause in confusion, "I... want this... I want to go... with him..." Haku begged weakly as he turned Zabuza's face to him, "Don't leave me behind..." Haku whispered, "You...promised..." Haku whispered, leaning up as if to kiss Zabuza before Haku fell limp, dead.

Naruto stared in silence for a moment before checking Haku's pulse, confirming he was dead before Naruto turned away in shock, 'I should've just tried to save him anyway... I could've saved him...' Naruto thought sadly.

Feeling a grasp on his shoulder, Naruto looked up at the concerned expression of Kakashi as his peripherals noticed Hinata and Sasuke cleaning up, "It's what he wanted Naruto, you did the right thing." Kakashi said with an eye smile.

Naruto looked down, everyone else beginning to cheer with the villagers that Tazuna had collected on his way from Sasuke's lookout point, all of them being ready to fight only to find the fight won and their lands safe from Gato.

The battle was won, but all Naruto could think of was Kakashi's words and Haku's will to fight for his master.

_You did the right thing..._

Naruto closed his eyes as tears built, 'No... I really didn't.' he thought before fading from the area in a shunshin.

Hinata and Sasuke were embraced in a hug before Tazuna's strong grip picked the two of them up together to hug them, "You kids were super! I saw all of that last part! if it wasn't for you guys and your team-mate then we'd all be in the shitter right about now!" he cheered before putting the two of them down, "So ugh, where is the super medic?" he asked.

Sasuke and Hinata's smiles faded slightly as they noticed Naruto was missing, they looked over to the Jonin Sensei, Anko helping Kakashi hobble off as the man pushed his already weakened chakra system a little too hard, "Hinata, find him." Sasuke said in obvious concern.

Hinata nodded, squeezing Sasuke's hand once before she turned and began to run into town to try and find Naruto.

##########

The day came to a close after a very long, very loud party throughout the town. Almost every man began to help on making the bridge over the next day, doing almost a quarter of it in a single day with everyone's help.

But even under the watchful gaze of Anko, there was still a few hidden concerns for the village and the ninjas.

Since Gato had been defeated, that left over two hundred thugs and men of questionable intent wandering around without someone to control them. Not much was known about these men, but they were all definitely within an hour or so marching distance somewhere along the river.

How else would they have taken a boat to Tazuna's bridge?

Kakashi was up, ready to see what Anko had taught his team on infiltration as he designed one last mission for the team in the Land of Waves; taking down Gato's base.

But for Kakashi's plan of attack to work, they needed everyone ready to go.

And Naruto still hadn't reappeared yet.

##########

Kakashi sighed as the sun began to set on the day after Gato's defeat, he watched as figures began to move away from the bridge, needing the light to work as did Kakashi, 'Looks like we'll be going tomorrow instead...' Kakashi thought before turning to look behind him.

Hinata and Sasuke sat in silence next to each other on the couch, inside each other's personal space and seemingly comfortable with it. The day before, Hinata had looked all over town, from the bridge, to the docks, to the northern rivers. He wasn't anywhere. She asked Kakashi to summon his dogs to find him, but the Jonin refused, saying that Naruto needed some time alone.

Kakashi sighed again, "Alright guys, since Naruto isn't back yet I want you guys to search once more for him. If we don't find him by sun down, we do a real search tonight, okay?" he said to the gennin.

Hinata and Sasuke both stood with a nod, "Yeah, sounds good." Sasuke said as he marched over the door, opening it for the two of them before they disappeared.

Kakashi sighed once more, 'I think once they finish the bridge we should leave immediately, that'll give Naruto a chance to talk to Tsunade-sama about this... he's dealt with death before... I wonder why he took this one so hard...' Kakashi pondered.

##########

Her eyes could see everything.

'Fourteen dogs,' Hinata counted as she dashed down the alleyways of the Township of the Land of Waves, 'Hundreds of people, though none of them Naruto-nii...' she thought with a frown, 'and a flock of dead birds, ewww, that's where the cats are; having dinner.' she thought before blinking off her Byakugan.

Hinata turned towards the bridge itself, 'Maybe he's actually training near the river like before?' she theorized before dashing west.

##########

On the southern half of the island, Naruto sat atop what remained of the old mansion above the governmental ports, looking out over the river to see the cliff he had watched the team bury Zabuza and Haku.

His Uzugan eyes swirled slowly as he took in the sun, the beauty of this world around him...

_You did the right thing..._

Naruto shook his head, 'I took an oath to help and heal all of those that I can... I could've helped if I had just been a little more pushy...' Naruto thought.

_You did the right thing..._

"No I didn't," he mumbled as he leaned forward, resting his head on his hands as tears built in his closed eyes, not meaning to but getting a perfect visual memory of the moment Haku said his goodbyes to Zabuza, "I could've saved them both if I'd just been more confident..." Naruto whispered.

"I could've too, but I never would have."

Naruto looked up with teary eyes, shaking his head as Sasuke saw down on the guttering with him, "What is it Sasuke?" Naruto asked softly.

Sasuke glanced at Naruto before looking out over the water, "You shouldn't beat yourself up over this one loss Naruto. Especially since you did exactly what your patient wanted; you let Haku free." Sasuke commented.

Naruto shook his head, "If Zabuza were still alive and this Haku was dead because of what I did, he'd see me as a monster," Naruto mumbled before looking down at his hands, "He'd be right... I'm no hero... I'm a monster..." Naruto said.

Sasuke frowned as he watched Naruto for a moment, the normally excitable blonde sitting in silence as he dwelled on his mistakes. Sasuke sighed before placing a comforting hand on Naruto's shoulder, "Naruto... you know the story of my brother, Itachi Uchiha, don't you?" Sasuke clarified softly.

Naruto turned to him with a dead gaze and nodded silently, "Yeah, the Uchiha massacre?" Naruto asked, knowing both the public story and that there was some secret behind it, some reason the good man known as Itachi would do such a terrible thing like wipe out his family.

Sasuke nodded, "Itachi is a monster. He killed hundreds of the people he held most dear just to test his strength, just so he could make an ultimate rival out of me for a real challenge one day..." Sasuke began before sighing, "But in his eyes... I'm sure he truly believes that everything he's done has been justified. He probably thinks of himself as some kind of hero or at least as above others..." Sasuke continued before looking at Naruto in the eyes, "It's your decision whether you're a hero or a monster Naruto, all about perspective."

Naruto watched Sasuke intently for a moment before shrugging, "It's my fault Haku died..." Naruto mumbled.

"It's also your fault that so many of these townspeople lived, they would've died from the environment if not those thugs of Gato's," Sasuke said with a smirk, "We were so focused on stopping Gato and killing the bad guy... you were the one who focused on saving lives, you're the one they see as a hero."

Naruto smiled softly at Sasuke's words, "I... don't know about being a hero... but I guess I did help them didn't I..." Naruto mumbled as he remembered the tear-filled smiles of the townsmen and women.

Sasuke nodded, "Yep. We saved a small country from a tyrant Senju, that's hero worthy," Sasuke said as he stood, "But if you want call yourself a monster for fulfilling someone's final wish – to be with the one they cared for most – then go ahead," Sasuke said with a smirk as he offered Naruto his clawed hand, "But no sane person would agree with you."

Naruto smirked softly, "Yeah... you're right." Naruto said as he took the offered hand and stood with Sasuke.

The two turned back to face the town before Sasuke made Naruto pause, "Hold on, before we head back, I want to test a few things if you wanna help?" Sasuke asked kindly.

Naruto grinned, happy to help his friend, "Sure, what can I help with?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke smirked and knelt while pulling out a Storage Scroll, "Well, I need to test out the next few moves for my Jungle Tiger Gauntlets and my Jungle Style, I figured since we finally have a weapon that utilizes your ridiculous strength, we should spar and get used to it." he said as he smirked up at Naruto.

The blonde was instantly intrigued, "A weapon that utilizes my strength? Like what?" he asked.

Sasuke's smirk turned into a smile as he sent chakra to his hand, "I was waiting for that."

**POOF**

##########

Hinata sat with her arms wrapped around her knees, watching the horizon from her place sitting on top of Tazuna's roof.

"Hinata," Kakashi said from his place standing on the ground, causing the girl to look down and see him with her actual eyes next to Tsunami, "Tsunami here is going to walk down to the new fish market to see if they've managed to restart the fisheries around town. I'll be going with her, but I need you to activate your eyes to keep a watch on everyone inside as well." Kakashi said loud enough that she'd hear.

Instead of answering, Hinata just nodded as without a hand seal, her eyes activated so that she could scan the house, seeing Inari and Tazuna struggling with the simple task of making a salad from the vegetables taken back from the grower's farms.

Kakashi watched Hinata in silence for a moment before nodding, "Be safe." Kakashi said before walking off with Tsunami.

For nearly five minutes Hinata sat in silence, looking around her with her Byakugan before they picked up a spike of chakra down near Tazuna's wharf. She turned even though she didn't have to, smiling widely as she saw Naruto and Sasuke appear from one of the blonde's Shunshins.

She turned and leapt high into the air, letting herself free fall as she watched Naruto look up towards her once he sensed her chakra, catching her from the air with little trouble as they hugged, "Where did you Nii-kun?" Hinata asked, worry evident in her voice.

Naruto smiled before glancing at Sasuke, the two of them covered in dirt and sweat, "Sasuke and I were just training a little, and I umm... just had to cool off from yesterday y'know?" he said as he hugged Hinata before putting her back on her feet.

Hinata glanced at Sasuke, seeing he was tired and had obviously put in a lot of effort considering he looked ready for a bath and bed. She hugged him too, "Thanks Sasuke-kun." she said softly, glad to have her Naruto back.

Sasuke blinked before hugging her back gently, "Yeah... no problem." he mumbled before Hinata stepped away.

Hinata's big smile was back in place as she addressed the two of them, "I'll get you up to speed while Sensei is gone, we have one last task before we get going, and by Tazuna's current build rate for the bridge, we only have a few more days to be done." she informed them before turning and running towards Tazuna's house.

Naruto and Sasuke shared a smirk before following after her quickly, wanting to learn Kakashi's plan as soon as they could so that they could go home.

##########

Chapter End.

Double up chapters! Wahoo!

Hey hey! Alky here, thanks for reading you beautiful people :D

Would love to hear from ya so Please R&amp;R with ideas, suggestions and opinions so I know how best to please all readers.

Love ya and leave ya, Alky out ya'll.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen: Mission Complete and Rewards Gained.

"So this is it huh?" Tazuna asked with a wide grin.

Team 7 and Anko stood at the end of the bridge, bags packed and all of them ready to move out as Kakashi eye smiled at the bridge builder, "I guess it is for now, thanks for the mission Tazuna, I'm glad we could help." Kakashi said honestly.

Tazuna nodded with a grin as Inari saluted Naruto, Hinata and Sasuke, "I will see you again some day! That's a promise!" Inari exclaimed as he stood at attention, wearing a new headband as if imitating a ninja while he wore his short sword along his back.

Naruto nodded with a smirk, "Good to know! We'll be back to visit some time I'm sure." Naruto said cheerily.

Sasuke ruffled Inari's hair, "Be great, and remember to stand up for what you believe in." Sasuke said.

Hinata knelt to hug Inari, "Ooh, I'm gonna miss you!" she exclaimed tearfully as she squeezed the air from Inari.

Naruto and Sasuke laughed at the exchange before Tsunami tapped Naruto on the shoulder, distracting him as Sasuke, Hinata and Inari continued to talk, "We'll see you next time Tsunami." Naruto said with a polite grin.

Tsunami nodded with a smile, "I do hope so, but I wanted to thanks you for the hunting you did for our food and all the people you've healed." she said softly.

Naruto smiled, "There's no need Tsunami-chan, I'm glad to have helped. That's reward enough for me." he said kindly.

Tsunami's smile grew, "Either way," she said as she brought out a small but old envelope, "Please take this with you, it's really not much, but after your reaction to losing your enemy..." she said softly, trying not to open old wounds, "We of the town just wanted you to know how much good you've done." she said earnestly. Naruto took the envelope in confusion, moving to open it before she shook her head, "Wait until you've left, I think you'll appreciate it more a little later." Tsunami said.

Naruto looked up at her curiously before smiling and nodding, putting the envelope in one of the wide pouches of his medic belt, "Thank you Tsunami-chan." Naruto said softly.

"Hey Whiskers!" Anko exclaimed from the end of the completed bridge, "It's time to go!" she exclaimed, gesturing to the rest of Team 7 as they had begun to move past her.

Naruto turned and waved once more to the people of the Land of Waves before jogging to catch up to his team, taking his spot in the middle of the formation since he was the team's medic, glancing to his side and seeing the mostly healed wound on Sasuke's bare bicep, the sleeve having been ripped in their mission from the night before, "You sure you don't want me to finish that one off Sasuke?" Naruto offered.

Sasuke smirked, "If I don't practice with the medical skill you gave me then how can I be expected to use it in real situations?" he asked rhetorically, saying that he could heal it... just... not right now.

Naruto smirked before shrugging, glancing over the wound again, 'Still, it's not like he was in any real danger...'

##########

_The sun was beginning to set over the massive field with many tents pitched between the two multi-storey buildings on either side of the field, a large banner with the logo for Gato Industries hanging between them._

_A shame really, apparently no one knew their boss was dead._

"_Alright then," Kakashi said as he and his team stood high in the trees, looking over the closest of the four thrown together watch towers at the four corners of the clearing, "Show me what Anko taught you guys, we need to clear out the lookout towers and then the buildings in the clearing without alerting anyone outside. Show me what you've got, one Lookout each." he ordered._

_Naruto, Sasuke and Hinata nodded before dashing out of sight, Kakashi waiting for a few seconds before he pulled out an ocular scope, using to watch the furthest tower first._

_In a quick blur, Naruto appeared between the two men on the tower and used his chakra scalpels to slit their throats, the three of them disappearing from view for a moment until two of Naruto's Transformed Shadow Clones took the guards' places._

_At the second tower, Kakashi watched as Sasuke stealthily flipped between them before jumping up and catching himself against the temporary ceiling above them. The two turned to face each other thinking they had heard something, though after a moment, one of them turned away, letting Kakashi watch as a well timed kunai from Sasuke embedded in the man's neck. Sasuke dropped down as he took the roped belt from the corpse as the second guard turned to him again. Sasuke leapt up, wrapping the man's throat and cutting off all sound as he hung him so that it looked like he was still standing guard. Sasuke took his kunai back into his ownership before signalling Kakashi with a thumbs up._

_Kakashi turned his gaze to Hinata's tower as the girl quite simply sunk two senbon into one from a distance, making his body freeze on his two feet, his muscles tightened to hold him on his feet as the other guy turned towards him, earning Hinata's palm to his lungs and paralyzing them. The man falling silently to his knees before slowly dying._

_Kakashi held a hand to the earpiece connected to his headband, "Very good you three," he said before shunshining between his two targets, knocking them out and replacing them just like Naruto had with clones, "Now, Sasuke and I will take this building while you two take the far building. Minimum ten minutes and we'll signal from the rooftop for the last stage. If you find a problem, contact me immediately and we'll switch to our secondary tactic. Are you ready?" Kakashi asked._

"""_Hai Sensei!""" the three gennin's voices rang through the earpiece._

_Kakashi nodded, "Alright, split the frequencies now, good luck." he said before reaching up and twisting the dial, "Confirm, Sasuke?"_

"_Confirmed Sensei," Sasuke's voice replied, "Ready?" _

_Kakashi nodded, "Let's start."_

##########

"So," Anko said, bored out of her mind as the group leapt through the trees back towards Konoha, "What was the entire haul you guys got?" she asked, wanting to know if it was worth it to take out the rest of Gato's base.

Hinata grinned, "A whole heap of weapons, scrolls, treasures, riches, there was so much Anko-sensei!" Hinata exclaimed.

Anko raised a brow, "Weapons? Anything get your guys' attention?" she asked.

Naruto grinned once more before reaching behind his back, placing a hand on the over-sized scroll resting across his lower back, the kanji for Senju written on it with old ink, "Yeah, just a few little things."

##########

"_Ready Hinata-chan?" Naruto asked through his headpiece, staring at the window to the back of the building._

"_Ready Nii-kun, I'll see you inside."_

_Naruto nodded and clapped his hands in a Ram seal, using his shunshin to get inside the building through the open window, stopping behind the thick curtain and making it seem as though it was nothing more then a breeze coming in._

_Naruto waited, watching the reflection of the room in the glass of a cabinet he could see without jeopardising his position._

"_A have the three near the stairwell and the one stacking the fireplace." Hinata's voice said softly into his earpiece._

_Naruto nodded, "I have the two looking in the wine cabinet and the three at the table behind them." Naruto replied in a whisper._

"_That's all of them on this floor, and we're clear for now."_

_Naruto took a steadying breath, "Okay, on three." he said._

"_One," Hinata started._

""_Two,""_

""_Three!""_

_The two dashed out in unison as their last count was audible, Naruto leading with a kick that launched the two in front of him into the wall where their brains were crushed. He turned as he whipped his hands to his sides._

_His Chakra scalpels blurred through the air as he landed on the table in front of the men who had just begun to turn away, managing to grab their attention just before he cut open their necks in a single dual slash._

_Naruto stood and turned, seeing Hinata land on the stairs as her senbon lodged into the man stacking the fireplace, "First floor clear." Naruto said as he and Hinata began to climb the stairs, coming to a stop as they heard someone moving closer to the stairwell above them._

_Hinata nodded, "Two coming down, two up there moving towards the windows." she said._

_Naruto stepped in front of her, "I'll clear the stairwell, you get the other two." Naruto said as he reared his fist back upon getting to the door separating the levels._

_The moment the handle turned, Naruto punched the door open, throwing the two standing behind back into the walls and knocking them out if not killing them before Hinata leapt up into the air, clearing the railing and launching a handful of senbon at each of the other two men._

_Naruto came up next to her as this floor was nullified with no sound at all, "Two more floors right?" Naruto asked Hinata._

_Hinata nodded and looked up, "Next floor only has two men and they're sitting at the top of the stairs. The rest of the floor is full of what I think is all of Gato's stolen shit." she said honestly and seriously._

_Naruto frowned at her, "Y'know, you've been swearing a lot lately... maybe you need to cut down your time hanging out with Anko-sensei." Naruto suggested._

_Hinata shrugged, "Maybe you need to harden up Ni-kun." she said with a grin before leaping up to the stairwell to the next level._

_Naruto's eyes widened as he held a Ram seal. _

_Hinata recklessly kicked the door open, alerting the two men who looked up in shock as one of them was about to shout, only for Naruto to appear between them and smash their heads together in his hands, making a fair amount of blood splatter onto his face and hair._

_Hinata stared at him in shock as he turned to her calmly, the blood dripping through his hair and down his face, "That was risky Hinata, follow my lead for the last level," Naruto ordered as the blood on his face went unnoticed by him either though it kinda creeped her out, "Don't do that again."_

_Hinata nodded as the two went up the last stairwell, "It's Gato's personal room I think, though there is currently three people having... well... they're using the bed." she said with a blush._

_Naruto nodded, "Okay, so we'll just..." he began before pausing and turning to her, "Hold on, three?" Naruto asked._

_Hinata nodded, "Yep... two big guys kinda like these thugs and one lady... huh, she has a Gato Industries tattoo on her inner thigh... that's just weird." Hinata commented._

_Naruto turned away from her for a moment of thought, "Medically speaking... I just... there's nothing to say right now..." he mumbled as he shook his head._

_Hinata glanced at Naruto, "You wanna just... gas the room? They'll pass quickly and quietly right?" she asked._

_Naruto nodded, "Good idea, you grab the door." he said as he formed hand seals._

_Hinata opened the door slightly, showing Naruto that the room was almost dark, and letting the sounds of the wild threeway inside audible to their ears, "They're distracted sufficiently enough." Hinata whispered._

_Naruto formed the final hand seal before he brought his hand to his lips, 'NINJA ART: POISON FOG JUTSU!' Naruto thought as he spewed out the highly poisonous fog._

_Hinata nodded, "It's already filled the room, now, we should go seal away all of the stuff before we head to the roof." she suggested. _

_Naruto nodded, "Definitely, let's go."_

_The two moved downstairs quickly, taking out the scrolls Kakashi had given them, rolling them down the main gap in the middle of all the items before they began sealing one item per one centimetre squared._

_Naruto frowned as he glanced over his shoulder back at the scroll, 'And here I thought us knowing the normal Storage Seal was a big deal, Sensei's seals are crazy.' Naruto thought as he took another handful of scrolls and a weird looking statue._

"_Nii-kun, look at this stuff!" Hinata said from her place at the end of the isle, holding up an open scroll for him._

_Naruto put his things down and moved over to Hinata, his smile fading as his eyes widened at the scroll, "That's... impossible..." Naruto mumbled as he moved closer, taking the scroll from Hinata to read the title she was showing him._

_The Origins of Nature Chakra  
Senju Hashirama_

_Naruto unrolled the very old scroll slightly further, reading something that made him raise a brow, "Volume three?" Naruto asked as he looked up at Hinata._

_The girl nodded and pointed in front of her, making Naruto's eyes widen at the fact that it wasn't just a volume of books..._

_...but a whole section hanging under the charred banner of the Senju Clan symbol along with another row of old war clan related items._

##########

Naruto grinned at that, 'By far, the best part about that find was great-grandpa's weapon scroll.' Naruto thought to himself as he rested a hand on the Senju Scroll across his lower back once more.

Naruto glanced ahead to Hinata, smiling towards the girl that had quickly become one of his most precious people, 'Glad I had her with me, it would've been a bitch to seal all of that stuff up myself.' he thought with a smile.

Glancing behind him, Naruto made eye contact with Kakashi, the Jonin sending him an eye smile that he returned with a grin of his own, "Not far now Naruto, we're halfway home." Kakashi said to him.

Naruto nodded, "Kay." Naruto replied as he continued tree hopping forward with the group.

"Arf!"

Naruto's face paled as everyone turned to look at him, "...Crap." Naruto said.

"I thought I told you to leave the dog Naruto." Kakashi mumbled.

Surprising the others, Cerberus' head popped out from the neck of Naruto's shirt, "You did... but I didn't listen." Naruto said simply as he hugged Cerberus to his chest.

##########

"_There you are," Kakashi's voice said through his earpiece as Naruto and Hinata popped out the top of the chimney of their building, "Everything collected?" he asked._

_Hinata raised a hand to her own earpiece, "Hai Sensei, it's incredible over here, what did he have in that tower?" she asked him._

_Sasuke spoke this time, actually sounding excited, "A crap-tonne of gold and other treasures along with what was apparently his work office and a slave trade."_

"_Arf! Arf!"_

_The group looked down and Naruto paled, "Oh no..." Naruto mumbled._

_The group followed his gaze to see Cerberus standing at the edge of the clearing, barking up at them happily, or more specifically, at Naruto, "Why is that mutt noticing us?" Hinata mumbled as she crouched out of view since many of the thugs where beginning to either look at the dog in annoyance, or look up at what the dog was barking at._

_Naruto stuck his head out and glanced down, his eyes widening as he saw a guy with a big sword walking over to his dog, his Uzugan eyes letting him lip read easily, 'Stupid dog, I'll shut it up quick.' the guy said as he let his blade make sparks as he scraped it against the stone pathway._

_Naruto raised a hand to his earpiece, "That dog's name is Cerberus, he's a friend. Sensei, is it time to empty the clearing now?" Naruto asked urgently as he stood, putting himself in view as three thugs spotted him._

_Kakashi sighed and stood into view from the other tower since the thugs were already alerted to Naruto, "Guess it is now, Sasuke, we'll take lead. Hinata, get the stragglers, Naruto, follow up our opening and give us somewhere to set up... feel free to grab and save that dog too, but just know now, we're not keeping him." Kakashi said sternly before he and Sasuke jumped up into the air._

"_UCHIHA FIRE STYLE:" Sasuke shouted, "GRAND FIREBALL JUTSU!"_

"_WIND STYLE:" Kakashi shouted at the same time, "WIND STREAM JUTSU!"_

_Sasuke's fireball hit the spot directly below them before Kakashi's technique made it expand over everyone near the towers. Just as the fire was starting to lessen, Naruto flipped into the air, "HEAVEN'S KICK OF PAIN!" Naruto shouted excitedly as he fell through the sky, impacting the ground with his heel strike._

_Most of the Naruto's kick caused a small tremor as a fissure opened up in the ground in front of him, making at least a third of the thugs fall down inside it as most of the others were killed by Kakashi and Sasuke's combination._

_While the majority of the remaining few stood with their weapons out, three of the thugs had tried to make a run for it, only for all three of them to have a Hinata Clone land on them from above and knock them out, the original Hinata leaping down to the back of the group._

_Naruto blurred through the clearing, killing the four close to his dog before getting close and picking Cerberus up, "I've got him!" Naruto exclaimed before leaping back into the one-sided fight, kicking his enemies straight up into the air with a punt._

_Kakashi took out three in a blur as Sasuke's Fire Punch took out the last one, "Very good everyone, Hinata, check over everyone to confirm their deaths, Sasuke, go let out the slaves, Naruto..." Kakashi began as he turned to Naruto, "What's with the dog?" Kakashi asked as if he didn't want to know._

_Naruto grinned and hugged Cerberus, the puppy licking his cheek happily, "He's my friend Cerberus! He's coming back to live with us in the Leaf!" Naruto exclaimed._

_Kakashi frowned and shook his head, "No, he's not." he said sternly._

_########## _

"Arf! Arf! Arf!"

Kakashi sighed as he glanced over at the puppy sticking out of Naruto's shirt, looking around with it's tongue out as they leapt through the trees, 'When is he going to shut up? It's much easier to deal with them when they can speak to you.' he thought, thinking about the first time he had met Pakkun.

"I see the gates!" Hinata exclaimed cheerily from the front of the group.

As a whole they all sped up a little, looking forward to being home after a month-long mission.

"Well gang," Kakashi said as they all landed within view of the gates and the sign in desk, "Looks like our first C-rank is complete." he said with an eye smile.

##########

"Welcome back Team 7," Hiruzen Sarutobi said with a smile from behind his desk, "Overall status?" he inquired.

Kakashi and Anko stepped forward, "As suspected, the mission did increase in difficulty. But with Anko's help we managed to keep our cool and wipe out the enemy ninja before fulfilling our mission." Kakashi explained, earning a grin from Anko.

Hiruzen nodded, "Could you identify the ninja?" he asked.

Anko nodded and purposefully waited until the Hokage had taken a drag from his pipe, "Yep... Zabuza Momochi and Haku of the Yuuki Clan." Anko said.

The Hokage fell forward as he coughed, "Wh-what? An A-rank Seven Swordsman and a Yuuki Clan member? Is everyone alright?" he asked as he looked over the group of five again, only now noticing Sasuke's gauntlets, Hinata's snake cloak and Naruto's new massive scroll, not to mention the puppy that was sitting proudly on Naruto's head as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

Kakashi nodded with an eye smile, "Yes we are Hokage-sama, though since it has been nearly a full day since our last rest would you mind if I send the kids home? They already got everything useful to them from the scrolls."

Though Hiruzen was curious by what Kakashi's words meant, he nodded as he spotted the tired looks on the gennins faces, "Sure, though if the three of you kids could come back here Monday morning I'll have a message for each of you by then." Hiruzen said with a nod and a wave.

The three gennin waved on their way out, Sasuke being the one to open the door since he was the closest, letting out Naruto and Hinata before he left with a polite but shallow bow.

Hiruzen smirked at Sasuke's clear change of behavior, "Well he seems to have come out of his shell," Hiruzen commented before sitting forward, "So tell me, what scrolls were you talking about when you mentioned their rewards?"

##########

"It's good to be back," Sasuke mumbled as the three gennin walked the streets of Konoha once again, "Didn't think I'd miss it this much." he confessed.

"Me neither," Naruto agreed, "I haven't even lived here a year yet and I missed this place like home, anything you guys wanna do to celebrate being back?" he asked with a grin.

Hinata hopped between them, "How about an over-filling high calorie meal? After all that eating just to survive we did in wave I really just want to pig out over a grill or something like that." she said with a grin that matched Naruto's.

Sasuke paused in his walking as he tilted his head in thought, looking down an alleyway that lead towards the business district, "Y'know... there's an Akimichi BBQ shop open late near my district, they usually have a table held for me since they want me to open up to them." he said with a chuckle and a slight smile at the thought.

Naruto raised a brow, "For someone who you supposedly haven't opened up to you seem to care about them a lot." Naruto mentioned.

Sasuke shrugged, "They were some of the few people that didn't pester me about being the Last Uchiha, they just gave me a table and said that I was welcome any time for company or just a quiet place to sit by myself... they're good people, the Akimichi." Sasuke said with a small smirk.

Naruto grinned, 'Finally! It's so hard to get him to admit the good things about other people! It looks like he's finally getting the hang of being a normal person.' Naruto thought to himself, taking a mental note for him to add to his observations about Sasuke.

Naruto paused in thought as Hinata cheerily agreed with Sasuke and the three of them began to walk off towards the Uchiha district, 'Hmm... I wonder if keeping observation files on my friends is considered odd... I better ask Kaa-san about that when I get home.' he pondered before shrugging and dismissing the thought.

##########

The trio enjoyed their well deserved break at Akimichi BBQ, Sasuke being right in assuming that the chubby couple running the place had kept his table in the corner empty, though as it was usually set for one, it was rather obvious how excited they were that Sasuke actually had someone with him. The woman seemed almost in tears of joy when they ordered the Share Platter of assorted meats. After all, to the Akimichi, to share food with a friend is the most trusted bonding experience one could have.

Sasuke smiled softly to the older couple who kept glancing at him, Naruto and Hinata through the small window to the back room, "They're looking again." Sasuke said, starting to lose his amusement at the situation.

Naruto laughed openly, leaning against the large Senju Scroll he had next to him while sitting opposite Hinata and Sasuke, "So what? They're happy for you Sasuke," Naruto said as he snatched a piece of meat from the grill in the middle of the table, "And besides, they gave us a free pork plate and some tomatoes to grill, let them look." Naruto said cheerily.

Hinata turned with a smile towards Sasuke, gesturing to the other piece of meat next to where Naruto grabbed his, "Here Sasuke-kun, the first bit's ready." she said with a smile as she used her chopsticks to move Sasuke's food from the grill to his plate.

Sasuke's soft smile turned to her before it grew slightly, "Thanks Hinata-chan." he said as the two realized how close they were sitting together, causing them to blush as they turned to face the grill again, staying close, but pretending they hadn't noticed.

Naruto smirked at the two of them, though as he looked at the slight smile on Hinata, he suddenly felt a bit cynical towards the two, 'It's cool that they're happy, but it's not like they're gonna last long.' he thought with a shake of his head.

Naruto went back to grilling some meat as he frowned at his own thoughts, shaking his head at the hope that it wouldn't work out for them.

Naruto jolted back as he looked out the window in thought, 'Where did that come from?' he thought before sighing and grabbing a piece of meat, flicking it out the small window next to the table.

Hinata and Sasuke looked up as Cerberus leapt up into view, catching the meat before he fell down underneath the window again, "Where are you gonna keep him Nii-kun?" Hinata asked.

Naruto raised a brow, "What do you mean? He'll stay with us of course!" Naruto exclaimed with a grin.

Sasuke saw the same flaw in Naruto's plan as Hinata had, "Is he house trained?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto blinked before shrugging, "A little bit... I think he at least knows to go outside for the bathroom..." Naruto mumbled, trying to remember what he gathered from Cerberus' memories.

Hinata's Byakugan – though able to see everywhere around her – could only focus on a point at a time, so it wasn't much of a surprise that she only just noticed the people at the door as she lowered her head, making sure she was out of view.

Naruto noticed her movement while Sasuke confidently thought that she was snuggling up to him, making him blush as he tried to nonchalantly rest an arm across her shoulders.

"So that's Neji Hyuuga..." Naruto mumbled as he looked towards the front door of the restaurant, making Hinata gasp at Naruto's realization and making Sasuke raised a brow in interest.

"Who's Neji Hyuuga?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto sat back in his chair and looked to Hinata as the girl's chakra-enhanced eyes watched her cousin and his team take a table on the opposite side of the restaurant, "Neji is... Hinata's cousin." Naruto summed up simply as he checked out the other members of the team.

Hinata nodded, staying silent and not looking up physically as she watched Neji and the girl sit on one side of the table while the similarly dressed ninja sat opposite them, "H-he used to be a bully... back when I was in the clan." she said softly.

As if her words were shouted through a megaphone, Neji's gaze suddenly snapped to their table, his Byakugan activating as he stared at team 7, or more specifically, Hinata.

Hinata flinched as if the look had a physical force behind it, making Sasuke lean forward to block the view between them, his Sharingan glaring into Neji's Byakugan for a moment.

Suddenly, Neji stood and began to walk over to them.

Hinata began to hyperventilate, making Sasuke scowl, "This isn't a normal reaction against just a bully." Sasuke mumbled.

Naruto nodded and stood, facing Neji from the end of the table as he hoisted his scroll back on, "He is a gifted gentle fist fighter, and the main branch only trains with the best," Naruto began until Neji came to a stop in front of him, "But you didn't like to pull punches did you, anything to win, even if it meant hurting family seriously." Naruto said accusatory as he and Neji glared at each other.

Neji stared at Naruto for a long hard moment before offering a hand in a hand shake, "I was that man before," he said before looking over Naruto's shoulder at Hinata, "But thanks to you, I will never be that way again, I swear." Neji said seriously.

Hinata was speechless. She could see with her eyes that he was telling the truth, 'Thanks... to me?' she thought curiously.

Neji glanced over his shoulder, sighing as the two green-clad men on his team gave him a thumbs up each and the girl smiled at him in support, "Hinata-sama... I call you this not because of our history as Hyuuga Clan members, but because you have taught me a lesson, a lesson to all of those in the Branch Family," Neji said as he stepped around Naruto and reached into his pouch, taking out a small keyring in the shape of a bird, "No matter what we're threatened with, no matter who we have to stand up to, we of the Hyuuga Clan will do what's right for the greater good." he said as he offered her the keyring, "Please, trust me." Neji said.

Hinata stared at him through her headband, still speechless, but able to make a short quick nod at his words as her shaking hand accepted the gift.

Neji bowed to the three of them, making sure his lips were hidden from everyone, "If you ever need to learn more of the Gentle Fist, find me, I would gladly train you properly." he whispered before turning to walk away.

Naruto waited until Neji had sat down before he fell back onto his seat, "That guy is intense, you weren't kidding Hinata-chan." Naruto mumbled with a frown.

Hinata nodded as she clutched the keyring to her chest. Sasuke's arm went from being a come-on to a supportive hand as she began to cry softly, "Hinata, what is it?" he asked.

Hinata reached into her own ninja pouch, pulling out another bird key chain that fit together with the one Neji gave her, "I-it's my mother's and Neji's father's... back before she was chosen to be my father's wife... they were in love." Hinata mumbled.

Naruto and Sasuke's eyes widened in shock as they shared a look, "That's... an unexpected plot twist." Sasuke mumbled, not sure what else to say.

Naruto shook his head, "Hold on, so your Mum fell in love with the twin brother of the clan head, but then marries the clan head? Why? Did they swap or something as twins?" Naruto theorized.

Hinata shrugged, "We weren't supposed to ask about it..." she mumbled.

Naruto nodded at that, 'Makes sense that it's secretive... cause it sounds like some kind of conspiracy or something...' he thought as he cooked the last of the meat.

The trio ate in silence after that, Hinata more often then not staring at the two key rings in her grasp while Sasuke glared warily across the room at Team 9. Meanwhile, Naruto sat theorizing and eating as his mind began to wander, the boy absent-mindedly tossing another piece of meat out the window for his puppy to catch with a loud bark of excitement, "Maybe we should call it a night soon huh?" Naruto asked after nearly ten minutes of silence.

Sasuke nodded as he stood, "I've got the bill," Sasuke said as he lifted out the purple scroll he had taken from Gato's treasure hold, containing the money amounts of six of his forty-five bank accounts, "Senju, make sure she gets home safe. Since we have tomorrow off, wanna meet in the morning for training?" he asked the two of his team-mates.

Naruto nodded, "How about our place, nine o-clock?" he suggested.

"Fuck that," Hinata said forcefully, "I won't be up before midday." she said as she stormed past the two of them on her way out.

"What's gotten into her?" Sasuke mumbled at her sudden attitude swap.

Naruto smirked, "Pretty sure she's learning from Anko, it's the hard-ass false persona she adopts when she feels threatened, a tactic used to try and throw off most enemies. And it works most of the time as you can tell." he explained with a chuckle, "So, early afternoon at the training field?" he asked as he followed her out.

"Yep," Sasuke said in a raised voice, making people look at him. Sasuke just sighed as he paid for their meal, 'If she's gonna be like Anko some day... I'm not sure if I can keep up with that.' he thought with a smirk at the mental image.

##########

"I MISSED YOU TWO SO MUCH!" Shizune shouted as she picked up Naruto and Hinata the moment they stepped into the doorway, hugging them so tight they were finding it difficult to breathe.

They finally managed to get out of her grip after a moment of struggling, Hinata gasping for air as Naruto had expected it and held his breath, "I missed you too nee-chan, how's the village been?" he asked.

Shizune waved them over to the couch as Tsubaki came over, "Before you get started, may I get you anything? I'm sure you must be tired from your journey." Tsubaki offered.

Hinata nodded, "Can I have one of the Chai Lattes you do? Please?" Hinata asked, tacking on the manners as an afterthought.

Tsubaki nodded before looking to Naruto, who smiled, "Do you have any juice? I got an urge for juice." Naruto asked.

Tsubaki nodded again with a smile, "Orange and Passion fruit?" she asked, earning a wider grin from Naruto since that was his favorite.

"Okay, tell me everything." Shizune ordered.

Naruto and Hinata shared a look before Hinata began telling Shizune about Tazuna and his reactions to first meeting them and being very worried. Then Naruto cut in to talk about the Demon Bothers, Shizune smiling at his excitement on the matter. When Hinata got to talking about their first run in with Zabuza, Shizune's smile slowly began to fade. The more details that came out, the more Shizune's excitement began to dwindle into minuscule amounts, leaving her expression somewhere between anger, amazement, and worry. And by the time Naruto finished telling the Tale of Haku Yuuki from his perspective, Shizune was nearly in tears.

"...And that's not even getting to Gato's base when we cleared that place out," Naruto said with a grin to Hinata, "First thing in the morning we gotta have Kaa-san get Hokage-Jiji so we can go over that stuff we found." Naruto said, earning a vigorous nod from the grinning Hinata.

Shizune blinked in amazement at their story before turning to Tsubaki, the woman having paused once she had given out the drinks to hear the story.

"Umm," Hinata began, "Are you okay Shizu-nee?" Hinata asked.

Shizune nodded quickly, "Yeah... congratulations on such an amazing mission..." Shizune said softly before just staring at the two somewhat dirty gennin in front of her.

Naruto and Hinata grinned at Shizune, though after a moment's silence and Shizune not moving or talking, they began to look concerned until Tsubaki spoke, "Maybe you two should go to bed for the night... I'll tell Tsunade-sama of your return once she gets home." Tsubaki said with a smile.

The two nodded as Hinata hopped up onto her feet offering a hand to Naruto, "Okay Tsubaki-chan, let's go Nii-kun."

Naruto smirked as he took the offered hand and the two began to walk off, not seeing Shizune go to talk after then before Tsubaki covered her mouth from behind. The two gennin got to their side of the house before she let go and Shizune turned and looked behind the couch at Tsubaki, "An A-rank missing ninja leading a group of other ninjas? And they beat all of them?" Shizune clarified.

Tsubaki nodded and smiled as she looked down at Shizune, "Apparently so... is that a big deal?" she asked.

Shizune looked up at Tsubaki again and sighed, "Tsubaki... it's a very big deal, they're lucky not to be dead." Shizune mumbled.

Tsubaki blinked at that and patted Shizune's shoulders, "Well... you can tell Tsunade-sama, I'll get her special rum prepared." Tsubaki said as she walked off to the kitchen.

Shizune watched as Tsubaki walked off, her apron swinging with her hips making Shizune sigh, 'She's got it so easy... civilians really don't get it so they.'

##########

Closing the door behind him, Naruto flicked his bedroom light on and smiled softly as he looked around _his _bedroom, 'I haven't really thought about it like that since we've moved here...' he thought as he unclipped his new scroll and his ninja equipment, placing them on the foot of his large bed before flopping onto it himself.

Naruto took of his coat and tossed it on top of his things, closing his eyes for just a moment as he felt himself sink into the mattress, 'Finally...' he thought as he rested for just a second.

Naruto opened an eye and raised his hand into the air, focussing on the number one most difficult chakra control technique known to the ninja world in just a few seconds, creating a single chakra string from his pointer finger to reach out and turn off the light, closing his eye again as he smirked, 'Easy peasy...' he thought with a wide yawn.

##########

_The next day_

##########

"Arf! Arf!"

Naruto jolted up in surprise as Cerberus woke him by licking his face, making Naruto blink in shock and hug the dog before looking over to his alarm clock, smirking as he was up just a minute earlier then his normal alarm, 'Better then breaking my clock.' Naruto thought with a chuckle as he began to play with his puppy again.

As his alarm went off, Tsubaki entered with his breakfast but to his surprise, Tsunade entered as well with her own, "Shizune told me everything," Tsunade said as she moved over and hugged Naruto, "Are you okay?" she asked softly.

Naruto smiled and nodded as Tsubaki set their food down safely and began to open the blinds, "I'm good Kaa-san, and I think I finally have a good analysis on my strength level thanks to this mission and what I want to do next." Naruto said.

Tsunade raised a brow at him before turning and smiling to Tsubaki with a nod, the young woman bowing before she left the room.

"So," Tsunade said with a smile as she sat on the bed with her son, the two of them beginning to eat, "What is your final analysis? I trust that you're not showing bias or talking yourself up with it too." she said, trying to support him but wanting him to be realistic.

Naruto grinned, "Well, you heard about the ice using Hunter Nin right?" he asked.

Tsunade proudly, "To find out my son beat someone who's able to pose as an ANBU was a big deal, I won't be forgetting that." she said with a matching grin.

Naruto beamed at the praise, "Yeah! So I'm at least a high Chunnin or maybe even Tokubetsu Jonin level, soon I bet I'll be at Shizune-nee-chan's level, I can feel it."

Tsunade smiled at her son, 'Wow... he really has grown.' Tsunade thought with a smile as she watched Naruto eat for a moment, "So, what's this great big discovery your team made in the Land of Waves?" she asked.

Naruto smiled as he looked at the foot of his bed, seeing all of his things from the mission thrown underneath his long Senju clan coat, "Why don't you look and find out!" Naruto exclaimed as he grabbed his coat and pulled it off of the items, making Tsunade's eyes widen at what she saw.

"That's... my grandfather's Weapon's scroll..." Tsunade mumbled in awe.

Naruto nodded as he sat forward, lifting up hid medic pouch and taking the two storage scrolls from it, "Yeah, not to mention a whole collection of scrolls from both the Senju and the Namikaze Clans, most of the others went back to Jiji." Naruto explained.

Tsunade stared at the scroll for another moment of silence before looking at Naruto, "Naruto... you're amazing!" Tsunade shouted in happiness and pride as she hugged her son.

Naruto was gasping for air from her hug, "Kaa-san! Air!" Naruto begged.

Tsunade let go of Naruto and reached over to her grandfather's scroll, "It needs a little touching up, but it should even be usable after repairs." Tsunade said as she stroked the scroll as it brought back memories.

Naruto used the time to get his breath back and have some more of his food, smiling up at Tsunade's happy face in silence, 'I hope she let's me...' he thought before sighing heavily.

Tsunade turned to him and raised a brow at his expression, "What is it?" she asked, knowing from his expression that he wanted to ask her something but was hesitant.

Naruto glanced at the scroll before looking up at his mother again, "Y'know, if you could get it to work properly again, it would be better in use right?" he asked hopefully.

Tsunade smiled, knowing straight away what Naruto wanted, "Yes it would, but I can only think of one person who I'd trust to use it." Tsunade said.

Naruto's smile fell slightly, "Ah, never mind then." he said with a sigh.

"It's you dummy," Tsunade said as she smiled at Naruto, the young gennin grinning, "I'll tell you when it's fixed up, but until then I think we need to get you prepared." Tsunade said as she gestured for him to finish his food.

Naruto nodded and began to eat up, giving his sausages to Cerberus to eat away on the mattress next to him before Naruto paused, "Hold on, how do I prepare for that?" Naruto asked.

Tsunade chuckled between bites, "Well, that's one hundred and sixteen weapons at full capacity and approximately thirty different kinds of weapons. You gotta train." Tsunade said as she grabbed the last of her food with her hands and shoveled it down.

Naruto frowned as he finished his own mouthful, looking up at Tsunade as she stood, "Yeah but, thirty different kinds? It'll take me at least like, a month to even get a real grip on just one." he said.

Tsunade smirked and nodded, "Awesome, so, thirty one days?" she began with a smirk as she chuckled to herself, "Reckon you can make thirty clones for each night of the month?"

##########

Unknown to the two of them, down in the training room below Naruto's wing of the house, Hinata panted heavily as she finished her hand seals, five scrolls rolled across the ground behind her as she smirked, 'NINJA ART: HIDDEN MIST JUTSU!' she thought as a heavy mist began to form around her, enveloping her before it reached out around the room.

Hinata paused to take a deep breath before using her Byakugan to look behind her at the second scroll, this one not from Zabuza, but from Haku, "SECRET JUTSU: ONE THOUSAND WATER NEEDLES!" she exclaimed as she focused on the target ahead of her.

Parts of the mist began to coalesce around the dummy before the mist solidified into water – though without Haku's kekkei genkai, they stayed completely as water rather then half-freezing – in the shape of senbon, all of them flying at and stabbing into the training dummy.

Hinata panted even harder, 'Not much longer, I just gotta hold for a few more minutes.' she thought as she stumbled, falling to a knee before she wobbly stood again.

Unlike the first two scrolls – both of which were from Zabuza's and Haku's forgotten Collections – her last three held the old version of the Hyuuga family crest, the moon embracing a fire, which meant that these scrolls, though they were in fact Hyuuga techniques that Gato had somehow gotten his hands on, were so old that the techniques only faintly resembled the current Hyuuga ways.

Just like her first new jutsu from them, whereas most Hyuuga techniques were up close and without hand seals, this jutsu started and ended with a single Snake Seal, 'FOUR TRIGRAMS,' Hinata began in thought as she pulled her hands apart, her chakra swirling to form a solid glowing white ball of chakra the size of her palm, 'NETWORK SHREDDING BALL!' she thought as she stepped forward and thrust the attack forward.

The small ball of chakra flew ahead half of the distance between Hinata and the Seal-Wall that was able to take all damage they had thrown at it. When the ball got to halfway, it shattered into what seemed to be glass shards made from chakra, stabbing into the wall and disconnecting the chakra from the seal, actually causing them to stay stabbed in to Hinata's shock.

"Uh oh..." Hinata mumbled as she moved over to the wall and touched one of the shards, though it seemed to melt into sand before the chakra lost form, "I hope someone can fix that..." she mumbled as she realized she had actually damaged the seal.

Hinata turned away from the wall, 'Okay, that's the first Four Trigrams skill,' she thought with a nod to herself, 'Now for the Eight.' Hinata thought as she took a wide stance, her hands curled into fists as a "EIGHT TRIGRAMS!" Hinata began as her fists compacted with chakra, "EIGHT GATES ASSAULT!" she shouted as she leapt forward in a spin, performing a back flip after the spin to circle the training dummy she had targeted completely as she thrust her fists forward, unbending the middle finger just up to the first knuckle to give an impact point.

Hinata panted after that, falling to her knees before she dispelled in a plume of smoke.

The real Hinata, who had spent the night asleep on the warm back of her baby mammoth friend – though it was still the size of a traveling cart or two – jolted awake as the memories aligned in her head, causing her to yawn with a smile as she stretched, 'Wow, I've never done a whole night's training before with the clones.' she thought with a slight headache at all of the information.

Hinata slid down the side of her still sleeping friend, landing on her feet as she activated her Byakugan and pulled her headband up from around her neck to over her eyes, 'Okay, now for the Sixteen.' she thought as she moved to the other side of the room and turned to face the dummy clone with a fake chakra system throughout it.

"SIXTEEN TRIGRAMS: CHAKRA CONTROL METHOD!"

##########

"Is she still in there Shizune-chan?" Tsubaki asked as she arrived behind the young woman watching Hinata from the doorway.

Shizune looked up and nodded, "Yeah, though that mammoth she summoned before was actually holding the real one while she slept. It was a Shadow Clone managing all the training.

Tsubaki sighed in relief, "So, we were worried over nothing?" she asked as she lifted the food she cad carried down into view, easily enough for two or three people.

Shizune smiled and nodded, "Yeah, but she looks to be finishing it up now." Shizune said as she opened the door to the training room.

Hinata had just fallen back against the now awake mammoth's side when Shizune and Tsubaki walked in, "Morning Hinata-chan, your breakfast is prepared." Tsubaki said as she carried in the food.

Hinata smiled, glad to have the two join her for breakfast as her mammoth and her yawned in unison.

##########

Sasuke came to a stop at the team's training field, the young man finishing his apple before he began stretching, 'Alright, I have until about midday til I meet them at Senju's place.' Sasuke thought as he stood and cracked his neck, smirking as he reached behind him and pulled out two old scrolls that Naruto had found him during the raid at Gato Industries.

Sasuke held one in each hand before shrugging and kneeling, deciding to go with his mother's way of making decisions, he stood each of them up on the side and waited for a moment until a breeze rolled by and the one on his lift fell over, 'Guess that decides it then,' Sasuke thought as he lifted the other scroll and unrolled it in front of him with a smirk, 'I'll focus on the Flame Sphere next, but first,' he thought as he read the name of the first scroll, 'I'll be learning the Fire Clone Jutsu.' Sasuke thought with a smirk.

##########

Chapter End.

See ya'll next week, please R&amp;R :)

Alky out!


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter Fifteen: Finally a normal C-rank, a Date to remember...?

"Alright everyone," Kakashi began from his place hiding behind a large boulder, "This is the first time we've had a C-rank actually stay simple, so let's keep it that way," he said with a nod, "How's it look Hinata?" Kakashi asked as he looked over the eastern side of the camp.

Crackling over the ear-mike, Hinata's voice spoke softly, _"They're still just drinking and relaxing, the boss seems to be looking over this way though, as if sensing that he's in danger, the others seem oblivious."_

Kakashi chuckled, "Well, looks like he would've made a good ninja," Kakashi mumbled, "Just keep an eye out Hinata, tell me when he's antsy enough to move."

"_Hai Sensei."_

"Naruto? You hear me?"

"_In position Sensei, all exits cut off and clearing surrounded. Ready to receive the wounded as planned."_

Kakashi eye smiled, "Ah good, keep an eye on the one moving to take a leak though Naruto, he's the furthest out." Kakashi warned.

"_Hai Sensei, I've got him marked."_

Kakashi nodded, "Alright Sasuke, we're waiting on you." Kakashi said into the mic.

Hearing Sasuke's sigh through the headset, Kakashi couldn't hold in his chuckle, _"I've been waiting on you guys... now?"_

Kakashi raised a hand to his mic, "Yep, ready when you are Sasuke, Naruto, ready?" he asked.

"_Hai!"_

And the plan began.

##########

The group of eight bandits laughed and joked around the fire, the leader of them being the only exception as he watched in wait for the ninth member to come back from taking a piss, 'With him gone, this would be the perfect time to take him out and replace him... if it is ninjas that were sent, look for the birth mark on his toe to make sure its not a transformation technique...' the man thought in concentration.

His eyes narrowed as the ninth bandit came and sat back down, the small mole on the side of his toe still there as he sat down at the fire and shoved one of the other men out of his spot, 'That's definitely him.' the leader thought with a chuckle at their antics, 'Maybe I just imagined that blur before...'

"Hey, is that smoke?"

The leader turned and his eyes widened as smoke began to come from the back of his tent, "Shit!" he exclaimed as he stood.

The group of bandits moved with him as half went inside the tent to see if anything in there was damaged or the reason for the fire while the leader walked around the back of his tent and nodded as he saw the starting point of the fire, "Someone lit this..." he said as he turned to his men, shouting enough to warn all of those in the camp, "Swords out! Stay back-to-back, someone is here and they've already managed to trick us once so don't be surprised if they try to again!" he exclaimed as he unsheathed his own sword.

##########

Inside the tent, Kakashi blinked as he laid the last of the four bandits down silently, 'Well, looks like this man is very smart indeed.' Kakashi thought before disappearing out of the opening of the tent.

##########

Hearing the flap of his tent, the leader circled around, pausing as he noticed that none of his men had come out, 'Something is very wrong here...' he thought before nodding for one of the four men with him to move and check inside.

The man stepped out with a grim look on his face and nodded, "All of them killed boss." he reported.

The five men circled back-to-back, moving from the northernmost area back to the clearing in the middle where they could keep watch on everything from there.

"Shit! The prisoners!"

The Leader turned angrily as they finally came within sight of the cage, seeing it open and empty, but also seeing two of them disappear into the bush, 'Fuck. We're dead if we don't surrender.' he thought as he dropped his sword and raised his arms in surrender.

The other four stared at him in shock before the second in command gasped, "No! Ninja?!" he exclaimed in realization just as the leader had already assumed, "Run!" he shouted as he turned tail and legged it.

The Leader sighed as he watched what was left of his men flee, 'Idiots.' he thought as he closed his eyes.

Four copies of the same blur shot past each fleeing man, the four of them pausing before they suddenly fell flat on their faces.

The Leader nodded and gulped as a kunai was pressed against his neck, "Surrendering?" he heard a voice ask.

The Leader slowly turned to look behind him, seeing Hinata standing guard with the civilians in the distance while Sasuke stood with a smirk on his face as Naruto blurred into existence next to him, "Yes I am... I can't believe a bunch of kids beat us so easily..." he mumbled.

Kakashi eye smiled as he stepped into the man's view, being the one who was holding the kunai to the Leader's throat, "You do realize that if you surrender you'll be sent to jail for the next ten years at least right?" Kakashi asked.

The man nodded, "I'd rather be alive and miserable then dead. At least this way there's legal ways to shorten my sentence, I've taken enough money for the best lawyer in the Land of Fire." he said confidently, knowing that they can't kill him since he's their prisoner.

Kakashi frowned at his words in silence for a moment before he turned to Sasuke, "Light it up." Kakashi ordered.

Sasuke smirked and formed hand seals, "FIRE STYLE: PHOENIX FLOWER JUTSU!" he shouted before spitting out a small ball of fire for each tent, burning them and all the things in them.

The Leader's face paled as all his money was gone other then what he had on him... which was like, maybe enough for lunch.

Kakashi eye smiled at the Leader, "See? There's no good end for you. This is what you get when you're a dick." Kakashi said before knocking him out.

Naruto raised a brow as the last bandit fell unconscious, "Really Sensei? 'Don't be a dick' is your big message before carting him off to jail?" Naruto asked.

Kakashi eye smiled and nodded, "Yep, now, have you sorted out where they're all from?" Kakashi asked with a nod towards the civilians.

Hinata jogged up to them from her place in front of the civilians, "Three towns, one large group is a family from the town not too far from here, most of the others seemed to have been a traveling sales group from Konoha, so we can just take them back with us. The last woman was stolen from her family's farm a long time ago, one of the borderland farm that grow the Land of Fire's herbs. She has been in their property for like, two months at least." Hinata said with a frown on her face.

Kakashi sighed, "Three different directions..." he mumbled before turning to Naruto, "Well, you're the one who has the best chance to make to the border and back by nightfall, why don't you take the farmer's daughter to the outer farmlands? Someone has to recognize her." he said.

Naruto nodded, "Yes sir!" Naruto said before Hinata lead him towards the group.

Kakashi turned to Sasuke, "So how about you begin to lead the Konoha group back home with your Tigers out? Less time spent outside the village for all of us." Kakashi suggested.

Sasuke nodded, "Sound good to me, but I might need a few more eyes," he said casually, having been trying to work his new jutsu into any situation to show it off, "UCHIHA FIRE STYLE: FIRE CLONE JUTSU!" he exclaimed.

Kakashi blinked in amazement as three Fire Clones combusted into existence behind Sasuke, all of them moving to get in position around the large group, "Fire clones aye?" Kakashi asked rhetorically as he shook his head, "Amazing."

Looking over to Hinata, Kakashi eye smiled, "And it looks like Hinata has taken the lead for me." he said.

"""SUMMONING JUTSU!"""

#########

"There they are!"

Hinata's mouth stretched into a grin as Kakashi's eye smile shined, "Well it looks like someone's happy to see us." Kakashi said as they watched half the small town cheer from inside the city limits.

Hinata turned around to look up at her mammoth, who was carrying the family of seven – two older adults and four young adults and a child – to the town safely on it's back as Hinata and Kakashi lead the way, "Well, how do you like it here?" Hinata asked her mammoth.

The large woolly mass shook as a deep rumble rung through the area, though with the grin that appeared on Hinata's face, it was obvious that she somehow understood it, "I guess it is a bit hot for you guys, but at least you have a nice breeze all the time." she said.

Kakashi chuckled as they got to the open gateway that signified entering the township. Kakashi paused and bowed to the large man that greeted them, "Hello sir, we completed your retrieval mission." Kakashi said as he turned and gestured up to the people on the mammoth.

The crowd began to cheer as the mammoth lifted them down one by one with it's trunk, each person being embraced in the familiar arms of their townsfolk and returned to safely.

The man who Kakashi had spoken to nodded, "Very good, you ninja are quite amazing, did you get all of them? We estimated about eight of them at least, we can't have people like that around my town." he said seriously as he held out a small suitcase for Kakashi.

The Jonin eye smiled as he took the suitcase, passing it to Hinata so that she could politely count the money without even opening the case and offending their client, "All eight bandits were taken care of, but..." Kakashi said as he turned and looked up at the mammoth, "As you can see, their Leader was the ninth and last person."

The man looked up as the mammoth put the Leader down on his feet, the man tied up in so much rope that he fell on his face the moment he was let go, causing the other man to laugh, "Well that's something! Gilado, Takome, take the prisoner to the cells and I'll call in the authorities in Tanzaku for collection." the man ordered with a grin as he began to walk off.

Kakashi nodded and turned towards Hinata as her mammoth dispelled in a cloud of smoke, "All accounted for?" Kakashi asked.

Hinata nodded, "Hai Sensei," she said as she held it up to him in offering, "Do you think we'll beat Nii-kun back to Sasuke-kun?" she asked.

Kakashi shrugged, "Probably, but I guess it really depends on how he flies." Kakashi said as he took the case and the two began to run back towards the Leaf.

##########

Sasuke sat on Kuro's back as he had Koru circling the group slowly as they walked, his three clones taking the other three points around the formation as they moved along fairly quickly, 'At this rate it'll be over quickly.' he thought before glancing over his shoulder at the group, seeing them all moving together slowly but safely.

Kuro huffed as his claws slid out slowly, making Sasuke tense and glance over to Koru, who instead of circling of the group was now very pointedly staying on the left next to the Sasuke clone.

Sasuke blinked on his Sharingan, looking with his enhanced vision and seeing a total of four people hiding in the trees, no chakra signature, but with bloody weapons, 'More bandits? Oh man.' Sasuke thought with a sigh before hopping off his tiger and whistling loudly.

Instantly, his two tigers launched into the bushes with two more of Sasuke's clones running in behind them. The civilians stopped at his actions as he turned to them, "It's alright," he said as a roar rung through the air, "Everything here is under control," he continued as an explosion occurred off the road, throwing two people across the road and into a tree, "Just some more bandits..." Sasuke mumbled as one last bandit came running into view with one arm bitten off as he screamed.

**CRUNCH**

Sasuke's fist crashed into the man's face, knocking him out as Sasuke put a foot on his chest, "Please move through quickly, my tigers will escort you through." he said calmly as his tigers came back along with one of the two clones that had run off with them.

The civilians moved silently through the area, following Sasuke's orders to the letter as they hastened the walk home.

##########

Naruto grinned as Kaze flew through the air, "Is this it?!" Naruto shouted over the winds.

The young woman hugging him around the chest nodded from her place behind him, "Yeah! I can see my house!" she said with tears of joy in her eyes.

Naruto grinned as he gripped Kaze's mane a little tighter, 'Swing us past and then come back up, I'll be right back.' Naruto thought to Kaze.

The pegasus nodded, 'Very well, I'll see you soon.'

Naruto nodded and let go of Kaze's mane, turning so that he was sitting sideways, hugging the woman to his side, "You ready?" he asked her.

The young woman blinked, "For what?"

And then, Naruto gripped her tightly and slid off.

The young woman gasped as she was about to scream, but before she had the chance to, Naruto landed on the roof of the town's chapel, sliding down the steep roof before he leapt off with a graceful flip, landing in front of the house next door.

The young woman gasped as Naruto set her down on her feet, "Get home safe okay?" Naruto said with a smile as he leapt up in another flip, landing atop the cross and the top of the chapel.

"Wait!" the young woman shouted, drawing even more attention from the locals as they began to recognize her, "What's your name?" she asked, wanting to know who it was that saved her.

Naruto chuckled, his Uzugan easily reading her lips even over the long distance, "Naruto Senju, a medic from Konoha." he said before disappearing in a shunshin.

Far above the civilians, Naruto reappeared with a grin as Kaze swooped underneath him, catching him as he took a grip, 'Heh, looks like we're done here Kaze.' Naruto thought as he watched the town all cheer around the returning town member.

Kaze nodded, 'Yeah, looks like it, wanna take the fun way?' Kaze asked.

Naruto nodded again with a grin, 'Yep, as long as we make it back to Konoha along the northern road, any height you want.' Naruto said as his chakra bristled around him.

Kaze shot up into the sky, entering the clouds before leveling out, gliding towards the Hidden Leaf faster then most would ever dream of being able to.

##########

"Hey Sasuke!"

Sasuke turned along with the small crowd of people at the main gate of Konoha – the civilians being left to their own devices as Sasuke waited for his team – to see Kaze glide to a gentle landing, trotting along until she stopped next to Sasuke for Naruto to see, "Hey Naruto," he mumbled before looking off into the distance, "See the others?"

Naruto nodded, "No more then ten minutes from the horizon." he said before sliding off Kaze's back.

Sasuke nodded as he watched Naruto see of his summoned partner, the pegasus flying up out of view as the blonde came back over to Sasuke, "Hm." Sasuke grunted before turning to look and wait for Kakashi and Hinata.

Naruto raised a brow at Sasuke's attitude, after knowing him for the past four months, he had known for a while that Sasuke was hesitant when he needed help, stuck up Uchiha.

"What do you need?" Naruto asked with a friendly smile.

Sasuke's brow twitched as he scowled at Naruto, hating that the blonde boy could read his emotions so easily, "It's... nothing." he mumbled.

Naruto nodded, "So, more important then training but not so important you won't talk about it..." Naruto began before grinning as he realized the one thing that made him act this way, "Don't suppose you're thinking about asking for my help with Hinata-chan right?" he asked, taking a well aimed shot in the dark.

Sasuke's scowl increased as he looked down the road then back at Naruto, "...Maybe..." he mumbled.

Naruto chuckled, "Best way to Hinata-chan's heart is through cinnamon rolls. Take her out for a lunch date." Naruto suggested with a grin.

Sasuke nodded, "Yeah... the thing is... I don't know how to... date..." Sasuke said, looking as though it caused him physical pain to say the words.

Naruto's smile fell slightly, 'It's not like I've been on a date yet either... but I guess I do know what Hinata-chan likes.' Naruto thought before sighing and shrugging.

"Well, Sasuke-chan," Naruto said with a slowly growing grin, "Just think of me as your fairy god mother, I'll grant you the wish of the perfect date, all you have to do is ask her out." Naruto said.

Sasuke's face pulled into a frown, "Yeah... and the best way to do that would be...?" he asked.

Naruto opened his mouth before pausing in thought, "Umm... just tell her you'd love to take her out for a meal and a movie." Naruto said, doing his best to look certain on the matter.

Sasuke nodded, "A meal and a movie... seems simple enough." he mumbled to himself as he began to bounce on his feet, the pent up nervousness actually getting to him.

Naruto chuckled as he looked off into the distance, feeling Hinata and Kakashi's chakra signatures enter his sensory range, "Why not tonight? She'll need to wind down and I'm sure you need to as well." Naruto suggested.

Sasuke spluttered, his tough façade shattered at the sudden pressure, "W-well I can't tonight... I'll be asking her at training tomorrow." Sasuke said with a stern nod, ignoring the blush that had climbed into his features.

Naruto couldn't help but smirk.

##########

"Congratulations are in order I see," the Hokage said with a smile as Kakashi lead the team into his office, "I trust everything went according to plan?"

Kakashi nodded, "Yes sir it did." he said.

The Hokage blinked, "Oh, really? No random crazy complications this time?" Hiruzen asked in honest amazement.

Naruto laughed at the Hokage's words, "Hey yeah! We've finally done a C-rank that STAYED a C-rank!" Naruto exclaimed, wondering how many other gennin teams had the opportunity to do so.

Hiruzen nodded at Naruto's words with a chuckle as he took the offered mission scroll from Kakashi, "Kakashi, have you talked to them about the Chunnin exams?" Hiruzen asked, making Kakashi raise a brow.

"Umm, I thought there was a meeting that told us to do that when the time came..." Kakashi mumbled, also pondering the thought of whether they were ready for such a thing.

"That's tonight Kakashi."

Naruto's eyes hardened seriously he smirked in confidence, 'I'm ready. Bring it on.' he thought to himself.

Kakashi turned to the group as he read the information from the sheet the Hokage had just given him, "So guys, this year the Chunnin exams are happening here in the leaf, which means that on Monday, you guys can join too. Now remember how serious these events can be and tell me honestly if you think you're ready."

Sasuke nodded immediately, "I'm ready for Chunnin." he said.

Hinata grinned and nodded excitedly, "I'm ready!" she shouted cheerily before she tilted her head and her grin went askew, "At least... I'm ready for the exams..." she clarified.

Naruto just smirked, "I think we'll be okay in there, what's the worst that could happen?" Naruto asked.

##########

Team 7 soon finished their business with the Hokage, Kakashi sending the kids back home as he attended the aforementioned meeting even though his team already had their forms, 'Well aren't they all cheery.' he thought as he glanced over the pages of his book to see the many Jonin filled with pride at the chance to enter their kids into the Chunnin exams.

"Hey Kakashi."

The Copy ninja glanced lazily to his right as two very familiar Jonin walked up to him, "Asuma, Kurenai, what's up?" he asked with an eye smile.

Kurenai shook her head, "Well I'll be damned, you're actually here on time." Kurenai said with a smirk.

Asuma and Kakashi chuckled, "Yeah well, I was already in a meeting with the Hokage when he told me it was on in like twenty minutes." Kakashi said, making Asuma's chuckle turn into a laugh.

"So what do you think? Gonna enter your rookies into the exams?" Asuma asked.

Kakashi's eye smile return as he nodded, "Yes, and I'm certain two of them will get to the last stage. And I wouldn't be shocked if all three did." Kakashi said confidently.

Asuma laughed again as Kurenai frowned, "Hey, this isn't some lighthearted thing, they could die in there." Kurenai said, trying to remind Kakashi of the situations in the exams that they will face.

Asuma shrugged, "I dunno, it wouldn't shock me if Tsunade's kid made it to the finals," he said before smirking at Kakashi, "What I want to know is who he thinks the other one will be." he said.

Kakashi just eye smiled, "Well... if you want to know that badly..."

"KAKASHI MY FRIEND HOW ARE YOU!?"

The three Jonin turned as the Legendary Green Beast; Might Gai, landed in front of them and posed, "Kurenai and Asuma too?! I can fell the energy rising in here!" he shouted, obviously pumped up from the training he had had his team doing.

Kakashi eye smiled, "Ah Gai, I was wondering when you'd turn up, looks like I beat you here."

Gai's eyes burned with the flames of youth, "I lost again!" he shouted.

Asuma smirked, "So that means you're both in huh? How about a little wager?" he offered, "Fifty on each of our students and who ever has one get the furthest wins the lot?"

Gai's flames shined brighter, "Hooooooh! I'll never back down from a challenge like this! My Lee will prove that you can become a Chunnin with only Taijutsu!" Gai exclaimed.

Kurenai sighed and frowned, "I know my three will survive... I hope you guys are taking this seriously." she said as the men finalized the bets.

##########

_The Next Day_

##########

"Alright then guys," Kakashi said after checking his pocket watch, "It's ten o'clock so bring it in." he said as he put his book away and slip off the post and onto his feet.

Hinata walked over and flopped down onto the ground breathing heavily, having just finished attempting her Sixteen Trigrams technique again and almost succeeding as she smiled up at her Sensei expectantly.

Naruto appeared in a shunshin, already sitting down as he dropped the Ram seal, "What's next Sensei?" Naruto asked.

**SMACK**

"Ah fuck!" Sasuke shouted as he held his face in pain, having tried to use the shunshin to land next to them only to slam face-first into the pole Kakashi was leaning against.

Kakashi glanced down at Sasuke for a moment before looking up at Naruto and Hinata, "Next will be a little something I think will be an interesting match," he said as he reached into his pouch and pulled out a single bell, "Here's the deal, you're all going to close your eyes and I'm going to give one of you this bell. You won't know who. The aim is at the end of the hour, whoever has the bell wins." Kakashi said with an eye smile.

The trio looked at each other and frowned, "So... it's like the first bell test, but it's a secret." Naruto mumbled.

Sasuke looked up as he held his nose, "Oh great." he complained as blood began to flow.

Naruto reached out and cracked Sasuke's nose back into place as he healed it, making Sasuke whimper for a moment while Hinata spoke to Kakashi, "Ready Sensei!" Hinata exclaimed as she held her hand up.

Naruto and Sasuke quickly copied her, all of their eyes closed as Kakashi put the bell in Hinata's hand silently and stepped back, allowing her to put it in her pouch before she raised her hands up again.

"Alright," Kakashi began, making the trio look up and jump to their feet getting ready, "Firstly, I want to know what your guesses are, lets go with..." Kakashi mumbled before pointing to Sasuke, "Your guess?"

Sasuke looked at Hinata and Naruto for some sign of guilt, though they both just looked at him with the same cynical look, "...Naruto has it." Sasuke said confidently.

Naruto smirked, "That confirms it." he said as he stood.

Kakashi chuckled, "Think you've worked it out Naruto? Alright fine, who do you think then?" he asked.

Naruto turned to face Hinata, "If Sasuke had it, he'd be calm enough to know that whoever has it, Hinata already knows the answer due to her eyes. And he'd face her and point that logic out to me. Since he obviously has had his ego hurt, he accepts only that a Senju would be chosen over an Uchiha," Naruto said as he smiled at Hinata, "And considering Hinata moved when we had our eyes closed – kinda loudly to be honest – I'd guess she was given it and put it on her."

Hinata just grinned, "Actually, even though I can see where the bell is right now," she said as she stood and pointed at Sasuke's pocket, "I know that he actually outsmarted you Naruto."

Naruto blinked, hesitating for a moment before looking at Sasuke, seeing the Uchiha now looking at him cynically, "Y'know... it would be just like you two to do this to confuse me," Sasuke mumbled, "For Naruto's little notebook on our reactions to the mundane and Hinata's fun... though Naruto thought of it." Sasuke said as he stood.

Kakashi eye smiled, 'Wow, less then two minutes and they're already arguing,' he thought with a nod, "Alright, your time starts now, get going." He said.

To make her story believable to Naruto, Hinata immediately dashed behind him to kick at Sasuke before he could dodge, only managing to block her kick before Naruto punched the ground hard.

A crater and a dust cloud formed, making Hinata frown as she leapt away from the impact zone to avoid damage, as did Sasuke and Kakashi, 'Damn, I was hoping Naruto would believe me but...' she thought as she ducked under one of his super-punches and poked at his wrist, only for him to parry the blow and the two separate in mid-air, though instead of him continuing to attack her, he used her stomach as a spring board to launch himself at Sasuke, 'At least it looks like he doesn't trust either of us.'

Sasuke blinked on his Sharingan, seeing Naruto's chakra signature approaching and making him smirk, 'He's just attacked both of us, a good way to make it look like he doesn't know... far too obvious,' he thought with a smirk, 'He's obviously got it!' Sasuke thought, knowing that Naruto was often a guy that would take a moment to think and analyze to come up with a plan.

Meanwhile in Naruto's head, 'I got no idea! But at least I can finally fight both of them at once!' he thought as he blocked Sasuke's black gauntlet with a grin, 'Finally some real on-hand research!' he thought as he sweep kicked at Sasuke.

Sasuke saw it coming with his Sharingan, performing a quick front flip to aim a drop kick at Naruto's head.

Naruto blurred away in a shunshin just before impact, letting Sasuke suddenly notice Hinata had also attacked at Naruto from behind, the two of them landed and turned to face each other, though they waited for the other to move as the dust cloud began to settle.

After a few moments Sasuke frowned, 'Why did she say I have it? I don't have it...' he thought as his eyes narrowed, 'But then again... I can't beat Senju by himself if he has it.' Sasuke thought.

"Sasuke-kun?" Hinata asked before biting her lip in a fake nervousness, already knowing that with the simple look Sasuke would at least listen to her, "I can see it in your pouch, why are you lying?" she lied.

Unfortunately, Sasuke had his Sharingan activated this time, so it wasn't hard for him to see the tightening of muscles around her jaw and neck that told him she was either lying or nervous, making the Uchiha smirk, "I get it," he said, thinking he had figured her out, "Since you know Naruto has it, you want to get his attention on me with the charade so that you can take him unexpectedly, right?" Sasuke guessed.

Hinata purposefully embraced her father's old teachings, keeping her face completely still to hide her emotions as she forced a sigh, "Maybe..." she mumbled as if she was embarrassed, 'Well, if he buys this it's easier then my original plan.' she thought as she she dropped her fighting stance slightly.

Sasuke nodded and immediately turned in the direction he could see Naruto's chakra signature, "Then why don't we just work together and take it off him? If it's just like the last bell test where three people could pass on two bells, it could be the same principle." Sasuke said with a confident smirk.

Hinata blinked behind her headband, '….Huh? But it's not just like the last test...' she thought before nodding, "Yeah!" she exclaimed.

"Hold on, seriously?" Naruto asked as he casually walked closer, "you two are teaming up to take me on?" he asked with a grin.

Hinata and Sasuke turned together, the two mouths on Sasuke's gauntlets opened up, yellow with fire and the black sounding as though it was breathing a single long breath. Hinata flicked her wrists, letting two senbon fall on each side of her middle finger and into her grip, "I guess so." Sasuke said as he leapt forward at the same time Hinata threw the senbon.

Naruto sighed as the senbon hit -

**POOF**

\- making the clone dispel as Sasuke landed with no opponent, "I thought that was the real one..." Sasuke mumbled with a frown, having though his eyes would be able to tell the difference.

Hinata nodded, "I... can't see him..." she mumbled looking with her vision through trees and as far as she could, but he wasn't anywhere around them.

From his place atop the training post – which somehow hadn't even budged – Kakashi chuckled, "I see, he's copied more from me then I thought." Kakashi mumbled.

"EARTH STYLE:"

Hinata and Sasuke looked down as Naruto's hands broke up through the ground, gripping an ankle each. Though Hinata turned to Sasuke and acted quickly, making Sasuke's eyes widen.

"HEADHUNTER JUTSU!" Naruto shouted as he yanked them down to their necks.

Popping out of the ground in front of them, Naruto turned towards them with a grin, only to pause from what was going to be a great speech as Hinata was staring at Naruto, "Sasuke!" she exclaimed in fake fear.

Naruto's eyes widened as he looked as Sasuke, for some reason there was blood on him, 'Shit! I stuffed up my jutsu?!' he thought as he moved closer to Sasuke, about to rip him out of the ground.

Suddenly, Sasuke's eyes snapped open, making Naruto realize his mistake as Sasuke's mouth opened too, 'FIRE STYLE: DRAGON BREATH!' Sasuke thought as he held his one handed seal underground.

Naruto leapt back as Hinata disappeared in a plume of smoke, able to use the substitution without hand seals thanks to her incredible control and charging at Naruto from behind, 'Damn! She used her senbon to cut Sasuke's cheek a little so I'd see the blood and worry. That's rude; using the fact that I care against me...' Naruto thought with a frown as he glanced between his two opponents; the incoming plume of fire and Hinata herself.

With the fire in front of him and Hinata behind, Naruto grounded his feet and formed the tiger hand seal as he stepped into the flames, parting them with the fire chakra wrapped around his fingers before he glanced over his shoulder to see Hinata approaching him while launching another set of senbon.

Naruto ducked and spun out from under the fire as his joined hands were fed chakra once more, taking hold of the fire in the air as he dodged the senbon in the single movement, "Take this!" Naruto exclaimed as he brought the fire close to him.

Hinata gasped as she was forced to dive away, Sasuke smirking as he closed his eyes and focused his own fire chakra around his exposed head and neck.

**BOOM**

The fire exploded outwards, making Sasuke cough up some smoke and spit some soot even though he was technically unharmed. Sasuke stopped coughing as he looked up at Naruto, the boy standing over him, "What now Senju? I don't have the bells." Sasuke said just before two senbon stuck Naruto in the back.

**POOF**

Hinata's eyes widened as another Naruto clone appeared in a shunshin behind her, his green glowing hand gripping the muscles between her neck and shoulder, "MEDIC ART: VULCAN GRIP!" the clone shouted as the tiny electrical spark knocked her unconscious.

"I know," the real Naruto said as he arrived next to Sasuke, walking towards the unconscious Hinata as his clone dispelled, "I do." Naruto said positively as he was about to crouch and search Hinata for the bells, now being positive that she had them.

Sasuke smirked as Naruto now had his back turned, 'Well, it was a good plan.' he thought as he clenched his fist within his black gauntlet, the chakra opening the mouth that suddenly exploded with a powerful force.

Naruto turned with wide eyes as Sasuke ripped himself out of the ground and flung himself into the air, kicking out so fast that Naruto only managed to raise his guard before the attack hit, throwing him back slightly as Sasuke knelt and not so gently pinched Hinata's arm.

"Ow!" Hinata shouted as she became conscious, the small pain being enough to snap her out of the shallow sleep.

"Well," Naruto began with a chuckle, taking off his dirtied jacket and tossing it to the side, "Looks like this'll be harder then I thought." Naruto said as the two charged him side by side again.

##########

Naruto panted as Sasuke finally fell on his butt and Hinata was dropped form Naruto's grip, "Finally," Naruto mumbled before disappearing in a shunshin, arriving on the other side of the field and holding up the bell with a grin, "I told you she had it Sasuke!" Naruto exclaimed.

Sasuke punched the ground in annoyance at losing a battle to Naruto, though after looking over to Hinata to seethe tied-up girl scowling, he couldn't help but smirk at her cute expression.

"Nii-kun!" Hinata exclaimed as she rolled around, the rope too tightly connected to her to escape with a substitution as Naruto looked down at her, "Let me go!" she exclaimed.

Naruto shook his head, "Not until the hour's up." Naruto said with a grin.

Sasuke's eyes widened, 'That's right! I still have a chance!' Sasuke thought before he made a hand seal while Naruto's eyes were on Hinata.

Sasuke focused, still not used to using the jutsu Naruto had been teaching him, he quickly made hand seals, "NINJA ART: SHUNSHIN!" Sasuke exclaimed.

Naruto looked up just as Sasuke slammed into him, obviously unprepared as the bell went up into the air, the two boys scrambling to their feet as their eyes watched it fall through the air.

Hinata smirked and using her hidden hand, finished a single series of hand seals that frankly, caught everyone off guard, "SECRET JUTSU: WATER NEEDLES!" Hinata shouted, using the water from the river just behind the two boys to attack them.

Naruto and Sasuke kicked apart, the Uchiha forming hand seals as the Senju's eyes span.

"SUSANO'O!"

"FIRE STYLE: HIDING IN FLAMES!"

Naruto's ultimate defense protected him from the needle barrage as Sasuke's fire jutsu did the same while throwing Naruto further away.

Naruto rolled to his feet, seeing Hinata was wriggling toward the discarded bell that Sasuke hadn't realised Naruto no longer had, Naruto leapt forward, his Susano'o protecting him from Sasuke's move as it dispersed. Naruto came out the other side, his Ninjutsu collapsing as he wrenched the bell back into his hand just before she could bite down on it's string.

Sasuke's eyes widened as he realised the mistake, though he dropped onto all fours before chasing after Naruto with his black gauntlet's Boost ability.

Naruto spun and kicked, finally landing a Taijutsu attack to Sasuke's gauntlets.

**BOOM**

Sasuke went flying, only being saved from being smashed against a tree by his gauntlet hitting it first and incidentally causing him to hit his own face.

Sasuke fell to the ground, unconscious and once again with a bleeding nose.

Naruto sighed as he held up the bell, smirking as it chimed, "Finally..." he began before chuckling to himself, "...again, heh. OW!" Naruto shouted suddenly.

The surprisingly resourceful yet still tied up Hinata had managed to wriggle close enough to bite Naruto's leg, making him jolt in pain and drop the bell. She wormed and threw her feet up over Naruto's head, the blonde's head getting stuck in the rope he himself had tied her up with and throwing him to the ground underneath her as she caught the falling bell in her teeth, 'I did it!' she thought in success.

Naruto yelped as he slammed into the ground, and again as Hinata landed on him, making him hold his face in annoyance, "Ow damn!" Naruto exclaimed, honestly more surprised by the manoeuvre since his pain tolerance usually far better then that.

Kakashi eye smiled as he clicked the timer on his pocket watch, signifying that it had just been an hour, 'Wow, I didn't expect that.' Kakashi thought with an eye smile.

"ALRIGHT YOU TWO!" Kakashi yelled the first bit as he put his book away, "Time's up and it looks like Hinata wins, Naruto, get to work on healing everyone, Hinata, you are getting almost as good at manipulating people as Anko is. I'm not sure whether to be worried or proud." he said with a chuckle as he blurred to suddenly come to a stop between the two of them, Hinata's bindings suddenly cut and limp.

Hinata grinned, "Anko-sensei said that 'unless I really want to fuck with someone, I should only do it on missions', I just regarded this exercise as important, like a mission." she said cheerily as she sat up and tossed the bell to Kakashi.

Just as she let go of the bell, Naruto rolled out from underneath her and accidentally tossing her up into the air with his strength, the boy taking a deep breathe as Kakashi caught the bell and Hinata again fell, once more landing on Naruto, though this time, not only was it an accident, but it was face-to-face...

...and knee-to-testes.

Naruto gasped in shock and pain as Hinata's knee made contact.

Kakashi caught the bell and nodded, having watched the whole scene and just ignored the phantom pain he felt at seeing Naruto's expression, "And Naruto, you managed to hold the bell for the longest once it was revealed, but in the end, Hinata still won."

Hinata sat up rubbing her sore forehead, having it it on Naruto's own forehead, "Ow..." she mumbled as her headband loosened and fell down, "Nii-kun?" she asked as his eyes rolled back.

Naruto gasped, "Home... please..." he barely managed before he passed out.

##########

"You sure you'll be fine?" Hinata asked as she looked at Naruto through the door.

Naruto sat in bed with a grin on his face, "I already am Hinata-chan, go have fun on your date. Don't want to keep Sasuke-kuun waiting." Naruto said with a chuckle as the blush rising on her face.

Hinata stepped in through the doorway, revealing that she was wearing her Shinobi uniform, but her headband was lowered to sit around her neck, she rushed up to Naruto and hugged him, "Why did I say yes? Why did he have to spring this so suddenly?" she asked him.

Naruto sighed as he patted her back, "Hinata, stop freaking out. It's just Sasuke." Naruto said with a shrug.

Hinata stood and frowned as she nodded, "Yeah... that doesn't really help me decide if..." she trailed off before shrugging, "Forget it, I'll probably be back in a few hours, so see ya." Hinata said as she began to walk out.

Naruto smiled calmly until the door closed behind her. But the moment it did, he rolled across the bed and grabbed the headpiece that the team used during missions, "She's on her way now Sasuke, just remember, keep the conversation light but flowing, you got everything?" Naruto asked as he put in the earpiece.

"_Yeah," _Sasuke's voice rang through from the other end, _"Movie tickets, dinner reservation and notes."_

Naruto raised a brow, "Notes?" he asked.

"_Yeah, I just wrote down a few of the things you told me to remember."_

Naruto blinked in stunned silence, "Dude, get rid of the notes, memorize that shit, you're an Uchiha!" he exclaimed.

Hearing nothing but a heavy sigh, Naruto waited with a frown on his face for some kind of response.

"_...Should I have gotten flowers?"_

Naruto raised a brow, "Get her flowers after, it's a bad idea to make her carry them around the whole night and they'll be more of a hindrance then anything." he said.

"_Fair point. I can see her, she's heading this way."_

Naruto smirked, "Awesome, have fun, I'll have the frequency open if ya need anything."

"_Good. Later."_

Taking out the earpiece, Naruto chuckled to himself as he walked over to the balcony, looking up at the sunset with a smile, 'It's fun having friends...' he thought as he turned and looked back inside, 'But it's also nice to get some time to do more research.'

Heading inside, Naruto closed his door and locked the balcony, grabbing the tray of food Tsubaki had left for him as he walked over to the cupboard and put the tray on the bench next to it.

Reaching into the cupboard, Naruto ducked so that he could see the small switch hidden in the corner of one of the shelves, flicking the switch, he turned to grab his dinner as the cupboard opened to reveal a staircase.

After walking down two flights of stairs Naruto came to his mother's personal laboratory, she called it a medical office, but after seeing the things she had studied and the things Orochimaru had studied in the past – which the Third Hokage had given her to try and find what Orochimaru's overall plan was – he thought of it more like a scientific laboratory.

Naruto walked over to the room Tsunade had let him use so he had access to the equipment – though he knew he had to run large scale experiments by her first – so that he could set down his tray.

Naruto stretched before sitting in his chair, rolling to the corner and lifting forward a beaker-rack able to hold up to twelve in there as the first two spaces held beakers with shards of Naruto's own Chakra Gems from the first time Tsunade took his and then after Naruto obtained the Uzugan. Now he was taking another since he had begun to use not only the Fox's chakra, but the Mangekyou as well.

Taking another beaker, he placed it down before focusing chakra to the palm of his left hand while forming the eighteen one handed seals Tsunade had taught him, 'Alright, let's get started.'

##########

"_Hey! You there?"_

Naruto turned away from his microscope and wheeled along the length of his desk, coming to a stop next to the earpiece that he picked up, "Hey Sasuke, how's the date going?" Naruto asked.

"_It just ended, listen, I sent her home so that I could talk to you and ask some advice on how I should-"_

"Woah woah woah," Naruto said incredulously as he reached out with his free hand to grab a recently finished ramen cup, "You sent her home? What do you mean?" Naruto asked incredulously.

"_... I sent her home after the movie...Why does it matter?"_

Naruto shook his head, "The walk home is the most important part, it's the thing that sits in her thoughts until the next time you see her and you sent her off like some kind of pet?" Naruto clarified.

"_No... I asked if there was anything she wanted to do after dinner and she said no... so I told her to go home." _

Naruto sighed, 'She said no?... how bad was he tonight?' Naruto thought as he had a small mouthful of noodles, "Well look," Naruto began as he finished his mouthful, "It's too late to change that now..." he mumbled before he blinked in realization, "Hold on, she's on her way back here?" Naruto asked.

"_Yeah, we were just lea-"_

"Catch ya tomorrow Sasuke," Naruto said as he flicked off the desk lamps and began to quickly pack up, "I got a cover to keep." Naruto said as he finished packing up his things.

Turning off the last light, Naruto waved to Shizune through the thick sound-proof glass in the other lab. He then moved out and grabbed his pack of instant ramen.

And then, he was gone.

##########

Arriving in his room in a shunshin, Naruto quickly moved out onto his balcony, pausing only to chuck off his pants to make it look like he had just gotten out of bed in his boxers. He sat down on the cool chair and looked up at the night's sky, enjoying the considerable warmth.

Naruto finally calmed down and managed to relax just as he saw Hinata walk around the corner, obviously tired as she stormed up the driveway, glancing up at Naruto on his balcony.

She paused, he smiled. She frowned, he raised a brow. She sighed and he smirked. They both nodded.

It was weird how close they were sometimes.

Naruto went back inside through the other balcony door, leading into the lounge room where he turned on the light and continued to the kitchen, filling and heating the kettle before he grabbed a teacup, just as Hinata opened the door.

"I'm never gonna forget that." Hinata said with a tired smile as she walked into the room and fell onto the couch.

Naruto nodded as he scooped up his ramen, continuing to eat as the kettle boiled, "I thought it would be memorable, so..." Naruto asked with a grin, "What happened?" he asked.

Hinata sat up, looking over the back of the couch at Naruto with an obvious frown, "He's Sasuke Uchiha, that's what happened." she said.

Naruto faltered as he raised a brow, "Ehh? But I thought you guys were like, y'know... something." Naruto said.

Hinata nodded and lay back down, "Yeah well, he is something. He was rude to every person that talked to us, including the waiters, it wouldn't surprise me if they spat in his food," she began before kicking up into the air in annoyance, "And he never gave me the chance to have a conversation, it always became about him. And his annoying past with girls. And the stupid movie which he talked through and told me the ending, I hate it when someone does that." she complained.

Naruto frowned, 'Why didn't he just stick to the list...Sasuke... if you ever actually win over a girl for real it'll be a miracle.' Naruto thought with a sigh.

Hinata sat up again and walked over to Naruto, grabbing one of the teabags from the bench and using the boiled water to make her tea.

There was a tense silence as Hinata made her tea and began to move to her bedroom, "So... the Sasuke experiment?" Naruto asked hopefully.

Hinata sighed and looked over her shoulder, "It wasn't an experiment Nii-kun, it was... not anything really, not a spark, not even a flame." she said before walking away into her room.

"No fireworks?!" Naruto shouted.

"Nope!" she shouted back.

Naruto sighed as he walked back into his room, coming to his bed side table and taking out a scroll, unrolling it to the first line.

Naruto took out his pen and wrote one simple word next to the title.

Byakugan + Sharingan experiment **FAILED**

Naruto rolled up the scroll and put his feet on the table, 'Guess Orochimaru's old way was easier... if I ever get the clearance from Kaa-san, imma start doing DNA experiments.' Naruto thought with a nod before heading back to his room for the night.

##########

Chapter end.

Next chapter: the Chunnin exams begin!

Please R&amp;R, Alky out.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter Sixteen: The Chunnin exams begin

The sun rose brightly, reaching throughout the village hidden in the leaves and the buildings, forests, and few people who were up this early in the morning.

"...one hundred and eighty three...one hundred and eighty four..."

If one were to look upon the Senju household, they'd see a shirtless Naruto hanging from his balcony's lower side with his chakra from his feet, doing upside down crunches as the sun just began to reach his feet.

Naruto's eyes opened as he stared at the Hokage mountain, continuing his morning exercise with determination in his gaze, 'The Chunnin exams...' he thought with a smirk, 'This is gonna be very interesting.' he thought as he took the last few crunches in stride.

"...one hundred and ninety nine... two hundred!" Naruto shouted before relaxing and letting go.

After falling through the air for a moment, Naruto formed a lazy hand seal and reappeared on his balcony in a shunshin, flopping onto a chair and sighing before looking to his side and raising an eyebrow, "Umm, how long have you been there?" Naruto asked.

Hinata glanced at him with an energetic smile from her own chair, "For about ten minutes, I couldn't wait for today to begin." she said with a grin.

Naruto nodded as he sat up with a stretch, letting Hinata see his sweaty and muscle-ripped upper half, "Excited for the exams? Or still thinking about Sasuke?" Naruto asked.

Hinata's smile faltered at his words and her cheeks blushed as his body, "I was thinking of the exams but... yeah... I guess I really should be more concerned about Sasuke-kun..." she mumbled.

"If you keep calling him 'kun' then he'll probably get the wrong idea, it already took you telling him no twice just for him to realise how much he screwed up that date." Naruto commented with a yawn before he stood.

Hinata looked up at him curiously, "What are you doing?" she asked.

Naruto looked at her over his shoulder and grinned at her, "Imma go have a shower, then I'm going to see Kaa-san before the exams." Naruto said.

Hinata smiled, "Okay, I have to go meet up with Anko-sensei before the exams as well, she said she had some things I might need for the exams." she said as she stood.

Naruto grinned, admiring Hinata's cuteness as she paused to smell the flowers in his pot plant, he came up behind her and hugged her, picking her up as she yelped, "Hahaha!" Naruto cheered happily as Hinata laughed along with him.

Naruto 'lightly' tossed her back into her feet as he went inside, "I'll be quick in there okay? You can get ready after and I'll meet you at the exams at 10!" Naruto shouted confidently.

Hinata landed with a blush and nodded at Naruto's words until he said the time, "Umm, no, you mean nine Nii-kun. The exams start at quarter past." she said sternly.

Naruto turned back to her and blinked, "Oh... well, good thing I have you here Hinata-chan!" Naruto said with a grin before racing to the bathroom.

Hinata sat back onto the couch and sighed as she hugged herself around the torso, remembering where Naruto had hugged her moments before, 'He's so warm...' she thought with a blush and a soft smile.

Suddenly, Sasuke's image ran through her mind, causing her to frown, 'Ugh, I've got to stop comparing the two of them!' she thought to herself as she kicked up into the air in frustration.

##########

Tsunade Senju, legendary Sannin, head medic, strongest woman in the world...

...was asleep face-down in what appeared to be melted ice-cream.

Naruto appeared in her office in a shunshin, about to shout out and wake her up only to pause as he smiled softly, 'She stayed up all night again...' Naruto thought as he quietly moved around to her side.

Glancing at the two pieces of paperwork that were ruined, Naruto sighed before taking them out from under her carefully, grabbing some of his writing utensils and some blank paper, he took all of what he had grabbed to the small group of chairs in the middle of her office, 'Least I can do is re-write these two.' he thought as he began to do just that.

A few minutes later, Tsunade's position sleeping on her arm became uncomfortable, so in her sleep she moved, feeling the odd sticky feeling of melted ice-cream on her, she jolted awake with a disgusted look, seeing it all down her arm, chin and some dripping down her neck, "Ugh!" she exclaimed as she stood.

Naruto looked up at Tsunade and saw the suggestively white fluid run between her breasts, "Kaa-san... you need to make sure you at least come home before sleep." Naruto said as if scolding his mother while he continued writing.

Tsunade looked up at him and smiled before looking down and moving all of her things away from the mess, "I'm the one who worries about you Naruto-chan," she said with a chuckle at how their roles had once again been reversed, "Aren't you supposed to be getting ready for the exams?" she asked.

Naruto nodded, though he continued writing as he spoke, "I am ready, I came by to see you before I start." Naruto said with a grin.

Tsunade had moved behind the couch he sat on, using the medical sink to clean her face and neck before she heard his words and leaned over the back of the couch to kiss the top of his head, "You're too cute Naruto-chan." she said with a happy smile before seeing what he was writing, "Is that my medical report?" she asked.

Naruto nodded as he finished copying the second sheet, "Yep, all done!" he said with a grin up at her.

Tsunade smiled at Naruto and lifted him up in a hug easily, "You're such a sweetie," she said happily as her hug made Naruto laugh, "So, how do you feel about the exams?" she asked.

Naruto chuckled, "I've now defeated an almost Jonin level opponent. If I keep my head on and stay focused, I know I'll be fine." Naruto said.

Tsunade let go of her hug, letting Naruto stand on the couch to face her, "Those aren't feelings Naruto-chan, that's an analysis." she said with a pout, "I asked how do you feel about the exams?" she re-asked.

Naruto's mouth turned into a grin, "I feel..." Naruto began before nodding, "Excited."

Tsunade smiled and ruffled Naruto's hair, "I can tell," she said cheerily, "I'll look forward to seeing you in the Third exam... well, most likely." she said with a challenging expression.

Naruto arched up, about to defend himself from the challenge before he paused and sniffed, "Hold on... is this ice-cream rum and raisin?" he asked.

Tsunade blinked, "S-so what if it is?" she asked, just barely losing her calm demeanor and making It obvious, "It's just ice cream."

Naruto sighed and quickly dashed over to her table, making the woman sigh as he opened the bottom cupboard and found a mostly empty bottle of rum, "Hah! I knew it!" Naruto shouted as he held it up.

Tsunade sighed, expecting Naruto to once more joke about ratting her out to Shizune, "I promised I wouldn't drink on the job, if I add it to ice cream, I'm eating, not drinking." Tsunade defended with a grin at her technicality.

Naruto shrugged and popped the cork, taking a gulp for himself and making Tsunade's jaw drop, "Naruto-chan! You're too young for alcohol!" she exclaimed as she snatched it off of him.

Naruto shrugged, "A wise medic once said; The most efficient way to calm the nerves is to temporarily numb them with some liquid confidence!" Naruto quoted his mother with a grin, "But seriously, stop drinking at work Kaa-san." Naruto said.

Tsunade sighed and nodded, "It's not like I do it when I have to work on someone..." she mumbled before ushering Naruto to her office window, "Alright Naruto-chan, I'll be fine here so you go have fun at the exams." she said.

Naruto nodded and shared one more hug with his mother, "Thanks Kaa-san! I'll see you later tonight!" he exclaimed before leaping off.

Tsunade kept her grin until Naruto was gone, the woman looking over at the checklist she had been given for the upcoming exams so that she'd know when to expect the most patients from round two, 'Good luck Naruto-kun... but I'll see you in six days.' she thought with a smile.

##########

Naruto's feet impacted the rooftop before he leapt off again, 'Still an hour and a bit until the exams... I know I already had breakfast, but some ramen would be awesome right about now.' Naruto thought with a grin as he changed direction.

After a few more leaps, Naruto caught a somewhat familiar pink blur in the corner of his eye, making him turn as he took his next leap to see what was going on.

His Uzugan took in the entire scene like a photograph, a duo of bruised Konohamaru Corps, Sakura Haruno standing protectively in front of them while Konohamaru himself hung in the grip of a sand ninja.

Naruto's eyes hardened, 'You don't threaten Konohamaru!' Naruto thought angrily as he clapped his hands in a Ram seal.

Sakura shakily took out a kunai as she leapt forward with tears in her eyes, 'If I do nothing, then the grandson of the third might die! If I do something, I might die!' Sakura thought worriedly as she tried to move as fast as she could to help.

From Naruto's perspective, she slowly moved forward as he appeared next to Konohamaru, one hand around the sand Ninja's throat while the other hand reached out and took her kunai to the palm to stop her cold.

The alleyway went quiet as Naruto's blood dripped to the ground, Sakura staring at him with wide eyed amazement as he calmly locked gazes with her, "Stay calm, stay still and stay quiet." Naruto ordered her before he turned to the sand ninjas.

The girl stepped up next to the other one, holding her large black object threateningly towards him, "Let go of my brother Kankuro or else!" she exclaimed.

Naruto simply squeezed Kankuro's throat tighter, making him let go of Konohamaru as Naruto casually caught the boy with his foot and flung him over Sakura to land in the grip of his two friends, all without looking away from Kankuro's eyes, "Kankuro and Temari of the sand. The two older children of the Yondaime Kazekage," Naruto said, knowing all about them from his many years researching the villages, "Save your energy for the exams or I'll break you." Naruto promised.

Temari angrily lifted her weapon and swung it, making Naruto move Kankuro in the way and force her to stop before a burst of sand suddenly occurred, throwing the two sand ninja away and nearly doing the same to Naruto if he hadn't stuck himself down with chakra, holding Sakura to his side to protect her as a young red-haired boy appeared in a swirl of sand.

"And this must be Gaara Sabaku, right?" Naruto asked with a smile.

Gaara stared at Naruto, "You... I remember you..." Gaara mumbled.

Naruto stood with a silent smirk on his face, pretending he totally know what was going on until the façade dropped and he stared at Gaara's eyes, "Wait a sec... you..." Naruto mumbled as his own eyes widened.

##########

"_Hey, why are you over here?"_

_A young Gaara looked up at the blonde that had crouched next to him under the only tree, he glanced around, seeing there was no one around him other then the boy, so he assumed... "Are you... talking to me?" Gaara asked. _

_Naruto grinned, "Yeah I am, Kaa-san brought me here with her for some meeting but all the other people are older and seem to like my Nee-chan more then me." Naruto said as he pointed over to Shizune._

_Gaara looked up, seeing the young brunette woman talking to the two masked ninjas that worked for Gaara's father, 'If they see him here with me, they'll take him away...' Gaara thought as he glanced at Naruto, 'I... don't want to be alone again.' Gaara thought as sand began to swirl around him due to his emotional pain._

"_He's active!"_

_Gaara and Naruto looked up at the two ninjas shot past Shizune, pulling out their weapons as they charged at Gaara, "We can't let Kazekage-sama's trade be interrupted!" the other masked man shouted._

_Gaara's eyes widened as they approached, but they widened again as Naruto suddenly stepped in the way, taking one blade to his shoulder before he punched out with his other hand, just barely hitting the other ninja's leg but exploding with uncontrolled chakra, throwing the ninja away._

_Gaara moved forward in fear, his sand wrapping around the two enemy ninjas as his own arms caught Naruto, lowering him to the ground with a scared look on his face, "Why did you do that!" Gaara asked, surprised at how much he cared._

_Naruto looked up and grinned at Gaara, "What do you mean? You're my friend, I can't just stand by and let them try to hurt you." he said calmly before Shizune appeared by their sides, her green glowing hand already working on the young Naruto's wound._

_It was a bit of a blur after that, the commotion having drawn the attention of those in the meeting and quickly making them break early, Tsunade immediately grabbing her son and shared a silent nod with Shizune._

_Naruto was nearly asleep on Tsunade's back as he looked up wearily, seeing Gaara sitting on the side of the rooftop, he waved and grinned, "I promise we'll meet again Gaara! Have fun!" Naruto exclaimed just before he was take away in a shunshin._

_Gaara smiled softly and looked down at the one small thing he had to remember Naruto by, a few grains of sand that had been stained in Naruto's blood, 'Naruto... my only friend...' he thought as tears came from his eyes again and his little holiday with father ended, meaning he had to go back to the village that hated him, 'I wish I could promise the same...'_

##########

"How ya doin Gaara?" Naruto asked with a smile.

Gaara stared at Naruto as his fists trembled, "I... waited..." Gaara said softly, "You promised, and I waited... where were you?" Gaara asked.

Temari and Kankuro stepped back in fear, "What has Gaara so worked up?" Kankuro asked his sister, only to receive a silent shrug in response.

Naruto's brow furrowed, "I promised..." he hesitated for a moment before smirking, "That we would meet again, and here we are," he said as he extended his hand towards Gaara, "Here for the exams?"

Unsure of what to do, Gaara hesitantly reached out and shook the offered hand, a small clump of sand wedging it's way between their palms at the motion.

Temari gasped, 'He's shaking his hand?! How is he alive?!' she thought in amazement as Kankuro watched from next to her, imagining much the same thing.

Gaara turned back to his team-mates, "Temari, Kankuro. We're going back to Baki. I need to tell him what you did." Gaara said sternly before marching off, his two siblings following after him.

Naruto sighed and brushed his one available hand through his hair, "Geez... I wonder what happened to him..." Naruto mumbled before turning to his side, "Sorry for interrupting Sakura..." Naruto began, only to see her staring down at their hands, "Sakura?"

Looking down, Naruto frowned as he noticed the kunai stabbed most of the way through his palm, "Oh yeah..." he mumbled, trying to look casual as he pulled the kunai free, making Sakura let go and gasp as the bloody knife clattered to the ground.

"N-Naruto!" Sakura exclaimed suddenly and tearfully, making the blonde pause, "I'm so sorry, I was trying to help and I-"

"Sakura, Sakura..." Naruto said, cutting her off and trying to calm her down, "It's alright, this happens more often then you'd think," Naruto said before smiling after Gaara and raising his already half-healed hand, "Every time I see that guy I somehow get stabbed." Naruto mumbled with a chuckle.

Turning to Sakura again, Naruto went into medical mode to try and help her come down from what was obviously her first blood – and it was an allies as well, damn – as well as usher the Konohamaru corps back into the public scene.

And to think the exams hadn't even started yet.

##########

"Bout damn time!" Naruto shouted urgently from his place next to Hinata.

Sasuke strolled up, surprisingly wearing sunglasses and no longer having his elbow guards attached to him, "Shut up I'm here, let's go." he said as he rubbed his head and walked right past the two of them.

Hinata and Naruto sighed before following after him, winding up through the building until they came to a stop at a large crowd. Sasuke and Hinata both sighed in unison before glancing at each other from underneath their sunglasses and headband. They walked past the group, making Naruto glance between them and the sign above the doorway, 'Ooh, it's a Genjutsu.' Naruto mumbled as he nodded to himself and followed along.

A few moments later, the team came to the top of another staircase and paused at what they saw.

So much green...

So much shine...

So much... eyebrows...

"MY NAME IS ROCK LEE!" the leotard clad boy exclaimed, "AND I WANT TO CHALLENGE YOU TO A FIGHT SASUKE UCHIHA!" the boy said with a thumbs up.

Sasuke took one look and Lee and sighed, "No." he said simply as he walked right past the boy.

Hinata bowed politely and followed after Sasuke while Naruto stopped in front of him, "Hey, Lee right? I hear that physically speaking, you're strongest gennin in the village yes?" Naruto asked.

Lee seemed shattered by Sasuke's proclamation, "Umm... yeah..." Lee mumbled sadly.

Naruto grabbed his hand and shook it once, "Good, listen I'd like to run a test with you after these exams alright? Naruto Senju, I'll find you again later." Naruto said before jogging off after his team.

"There you are Lee!"

As Team 7 disappeared around one corner, Lee's team-mates appeared from around another, "Where've you been?" Neji demanded as he and Tenten came to a stop next to Lee.

Lee looked up at his team, tears in his eyes, "My... flames of youth..." he began sadly, "So dimly lit... so weak..." he said before he began bawling like a child.

Tenten sighed, grabbing one foot, "Neji." she asked.

The Hyuuga sighed before grabbing Lee's other foot, the team dragging him along.

##########

"Hey it's them!"

Team 7 glanced over to their right, seeing Teams 8 and 10 coming towards them with Sakura and Ino leading the way.

To the surprise of many, both Naruto and Sasuke had to step back in shock as Ino got in Sasuke's space and Sakura got in Naruto's, ""How are you Naruto/Sasuke-kuuuuun?!"" they asked in unison.

Sasuke sighed, "Hn." he mumbled before closing his eyes behind the sunglasses and leaning back against the table behind the team

Naruto gulped, "Umm, I'm good... you're looking... better..." Naruto mumbled.

Love hearts pulsed in Sakura's eyes, "Naruto-kun, is your hand okay?" she asked.

Naruto smiled nervously as he stepped back, "Yeah..." he said before looking to Hinata for help.

Noticing just now for the first time, Hinata seemed to be upset with him as she scowled and turned away, 'What the heck did I do?'

##########

"_Thanks Anko-sensei!" Hinata exclaimed as she swung around her naginata, hitting her hand on the seal about halfway along the pole._

_Sending chakra into the seal, Hinata flipped the weapon around to sit across her shoulders, as a few seconds after charging, the seal let out a pulse of chakra from the end, knocking the airborne shuriken from the air as they got close._

_Anko laughed as she chucked one last handful of shuriken, "No worries! A simple chakra burst is easy to get if you know the right people." she said with a laugh._

_Hinata deflected the last round before looking up at Anko, "What, that's it?" Hinata asked._

_Anko nodded and laughed, "Umm, yeah! It's only another hour or so until the exams kid! You gotta run." Anko said with a grin._

_Hinata gasped and nodded as she tossed her new ninja tool up into the air, dashing forward first to swing the left side of her cloak over her remaining senbon, sealing them instantly before she leapt up and sealed the naginata._

_Anko smirked as Hinata landed next to her, the two high fiving as they smiled at each other, "Best of luck."_

_Hinata grinned, "A great woman once told me that we make our own luck." Hinata said before leaping off._

_A few minutes into her traveling, Hinata's Byakugan picked up Naruto, so she turned and focused her attention on him._

_And he was hugging Sakura._

_Hinata slid to a stop, her mouth hung open in shock as she saw Naruto move from hugging Sakura to walking alongside her, a hand around her shoulders as the two of them talked to the Third's grandson and his friends._

_Her eyes widened as Sakura looked at Naruto admirably, like her knight in shining armor, she leaned up and kissed her cheek, causing him to pause in shock as Konohamaru and the others began cheering._

_Hinata deactivated her Byakugan and lowered her headband to hang around her neck, "Nii-kun... is with Sakura?" Hinata asked herself._

##########

Hinata huffed and turned away from the two boys on her team, 'Not that I care... it's his life...' she thought before using her Byakugan to see Ino touch Sasuke's wrist, making the ex-Hyuuga even angrier as she appeared behind the two girls.

**BAM**

Everyone turned as Hinata's punch to Ino's back knocked her to her knees, giving her access to reach out and grab Sakura's wrist.

**BAM**

Hinata turned into her grip, lifting Sakura over her shoulder to slam down on Ino's back, throwing the both of them to the floor.

Sasuke and Naruto stared at Hinata as the girl flicked her hair out of her face, "Stupid fangirls." Hinata mumbled with a scowl.

**POOF**

Before anyone could comment, the front half of the room was enveloped in a thick smoke.

"ALRIGHT YOU MAGGOTS!" a loud voice sounded as the front of the smoke blew away, revealing a Jonin surrounded by many Chunnin, "FIND YOUR SEATS AND SHUT UP! IF I SEE ANYONE STANDING OR IN THE WRONG SPOT ONE MINUTE FROM NOW THEN YOU'RE DISQUALIFIED!"

Sasuke flicked off his shades as Naruto's eyes span and Hinata's Byakugan pulsed.

The exams had now begun.

##########

"...So if you're all ready," Ibiki said after explaining all of the rules of the written exams, "We'll begin at nine twenty on the dot!" he shouted before looking up at the clock above his head.

Naruto glanced around from his place at his desk, seeing that Sasuke was sitting near the back while Hinata was sitting away from him near the front, 'This'll be hard, but they'll have no problem,' Naruto thought as he took in those immediately around him, four strangers, Sakura Haruno to his direct right – a fact he was very much trying to ignore – and Choji sitting behind him and to his left, 'These guys might have a problem.' Naruto thought with a smirk.

Naruto closed his eyes for a moment before they snapped open, his Uzugan swirling as he looked around those he could see, his eyes focusing on one man directly in front of him, 'He's older then most of us, his chakra is better and he's showing no signs of nervousness... he might be one of them.'

"BEGIN!"

Naruto flipped the sheet of paper over, quickly righting down his name before glancing back at the one he had focused on moments earlier, his eyes narrowing at the man's hand movements, 'Knew it.' Naruto thought as he copied the movement of the man's hand to write down the first three answers.

Naruto paused with a frown as the man stopped on the fourth answer, 'What the hell... damn, maybe I need to find a new source?' Naruto theorized as he subtly glanced to either side of him, raising a brow as he noticed that Sakura had been able to answers numbers six and nine by herself, 'That's handy.' he thought as he tried to see what it was she had written before he looked down with a frown.

'That's right... I can't be seen cheating...' Naruto thought before smirking, 'I guess this is a better time then never,' Naruto thought as he put his hands under the table and formed the ram seal, 'First field test with the Chakra Strings.'

Naruto closed his eyes in concentration, making a single chakra string move from his pointer finger and reach up around the table to grip the top corner of Sakura's sheet just as she yawned, sliding it over towards him as his eyes snapped open, memorizing her answers before the chakra string pulled the sheet back into place, though on a slight angle that Sakura luckily didn't notice.

Naruto smirked as he wrote down the answers, 'Nothing will stop me.' he thought surely. Naruto used his peripherals to look around again, about to try and find more answers before he suddenly felt a gentle pressure on his thigh. Looking down, Naruto saw Sakura's hand resting gently on him, making him jolt to his feet in shock.

"Gennin 049, Naruto Uzumaki," Ibiki said, making Naruto look up at him, "What the hell are you doing?!" Ibiki demanded.

Naruto gulped, not wanting to sit down next to Sakura but at the same time, not wanting to be in trouble, "I... umm..." he mumbled before seeing a sign near the door, "Bathroom?" Naruto asked.

Ibiki sighed, "Really?" he asked, earning an apologetic look from Naruto, "Fine, Kagutsu take him to the bathroom. Five minutes maximum." Ibiki demanded.

Flipping his sheet face down, Naruto began to walk out of the room after Kagutsu, many of those in the room staring at him since he was standing out at the moment.

And subsequently, giving Naruto the chance to stare right back with no questions asked, 'There! Question four...' he thought as his Uzugan memorized the answer, 'And question eight. Not many to go now.' Naruto thought with a smirk as he went to the bathroom.

##########

Hinata looked really bored as she placed her pen down and flipped her sheet over, 'With my Byakugan active this was too easy,' she thought as she watched Naruto be escorted out of the room, 'But I swear to log if one more stupid cow touches my Nii-kun, I'm gonna have to start breaking bones.' she thought in determination.

Glancing at Sasuke with her eyes, her jaw dropped slightly at what she saw, 'Can't they ever give my boys a break?' she thought with a frown.

##########

Sasuke gulped as he focused very intently on staring down at the only two questions he had left unanswered, 'Just ignore it, if the judges see you react they'll think you're cheating.' Sasuke thought as he took a slow calming breath.

Ino wouldn't stop staring at Sasuke from her place next to him, rubbing her leg up against his and seemingly forgetting they were in the middle of an exam, 'Just relax...' Sasuke thought before feeling Ino's hand accompany her leg.

Sasuke jolted to his feet, making Ibiki growl, "Uchiha! Sit down!" he demanded.

Sasuke kept his emotionless façade in place as he looked at Ino and shrugged, "I would sir, but I find the sexual harassment I've been receiving to be out of line and as such I'd like to make a complaint." he said, trying to make Ino back off even though she just watched him as though in a daydream.

Ibiki – along with almost everyone in the room – turned to stare at Sasuke as he gestured towards Ino with his head, "YAMANAKA!"

Ino jolted in fear and dropped her pen at Ibiki's yell, making Sasuke smirk as he once more sat down, "Y-yes Ibiki-sama?" she asked.

"Front and center!" he ordered her, making her move to the front of the room and take a seat by herself.

Sasuke nodded and looked back to his sheet of paper as Ibiki chewed out Ino, he blinked in confusion as his gaze snapped to the side of Ino's face, seeing that underneath the fear, there was a smirk, '...Damn, she actually tricked me.' Sasuke thought with a smirk.

Ino sat in her new chair, holding Sasuke's almost finished answer sheet in her grasp as her own empty sheet sat on Sasuke's table, 'Yay! I got to touch Sasuke-kun AND show him my ninja skills!' Ino exclaimed in her head.

##########

"That's a relief." Naruto said with a relaxed sigh as he exited the bathroom.

"That's too much info." the Chunnin replied, not wanting to hear about Naruto's visit to the little boy's room as he was lead back to the exam room.

Naruto chuckled as he followed along, yawning in the process before they arrived at the room again. Glancing around, Naruto noticed something he hadn't even thought of before, 'Some people are trying the get the real answers themselves?' he thought as he saw a few working very hard on certain questions, '...I probably should've started that way.' Naruto thought as he was lead back to his seat.

Seeing that Sakura was finished with her exam and seemed to be waiting on him, Naruto made sure to walk behind her as he made a few quick single handed seals inside his sleeve.

Sakura leaned back as Naruto walked past, letting him place a seemingly normal hand on her shoulder, 'MEDIC STYLE: VULCAN GRIP!' he thought as the tiny spark of bio-electricity knocked Sakura out.

Naruto smirked as he took his seat next to the girl as she fell forward to land loudly on the table forehead first, 'Well, no more of that.' Naruto thought as he focused on his sheet and the last few questions he had unanswered.

'Question 7. Human Anatomy. On the following diagram; locate and name the eight arteries we're taught to target during assassination missions.' Naruto read in his mind before smirking, 'It pays to be a medic.' Naruto thought as he quickly began to write down his answer.

##########

"Alright pens DOWN!" Ibiki roared, making everyone drop their pens just as the time hit 1000hours, "Since it's time for the tenth question everyone needs to hear the one new rule. This last question is unlike all of the previous ones, because you get to choose whether or not you want to take it." Ibiki said.

Naruto raised a brow in thought, 'Why would that be the case?' he thought curiously.

"Then of course we'll take it!" Kiba shouted across the room.

Ibiki smirked, "Are you sure? You may want to think on it for a moment," he began before standing tall and looking over the whole group, "Because if you choose to take the question then get it wrong, you'll be instantly kicked out of the exams and NEVER be allowed to take them again!"

The room went quiet at that proclamation, the silence dragging on until one ninja from Cloud raised a hand, "I-I'm out! No way I'm risking my whole career on this." he said.

Naruto smirked as he watched people quit and be carted out of the room, 'Idiots, he doesn't have the strength to-'

"Proctor," Sasuke said as he stood, "I-"

**BAM**

Naruto reached out with a Chakra String, gripping Sasuke's forehead and slamming him back onto his desk, "You nothing Sasuke! Wait a damn minute!" Naruto shouted.

Seeing Naruto's sudden certainty made most of the remaining gennin curious enough to think about the situation, some of them still leaving, though most of them realizing one simple fact; Ibiki had lied to them before, what's to say he's not lying to them all now?

Ibiki smirked as he saw the resolve of many suddenly harden, 'Finally, a group that seems to not only understand 'looking underneath the underneath' but also has faith in their own abilities and that of their team-mates.' he thought with a sudden grin.

"To all of those remaining; YOU PASS!"

….

"We what?"

##########

"I still don't understand why that was necessary," Sasuke said, once more trying to justify the fact that he was going to give up, "If he didn't have the power to dictate that, then why say it? We're supposed to be able to trust our superiors." Sasuke said.

Naruto chuckled, "That's the point of the test Sasuke." Naruto said before looking ahead to Hinata, "Any idea where she's taking us yet?" Naruto asked.

Hinata happily grinned over her shoulder at the two of them, "Nope! But with Anko-sensei running the exam you know it's gonna be fun!" Hinata exclaimed as she lead the two of them across the rooftops.

After a few moments Hinata raised her left arm, "Got a good vantage point!" she exclaimed as she leapt up ahead of them.

Sasuke and Naruto smirked and followed her, soon running up the outer wall of the village and pausing to look back.

As Anko lead the majority of the gennin through the gate, Sasuke's Sharingan, Naruto's Uzugan and Hinata's Byakugan scanned all of them, looking for and taking note of any weaknesses they could find in all of the enemies until they had passed beneath them.

After a few moments, Team 7 leapt down behind the group, "Alright, I got a lot of intel," Naruto said, "You guys?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke smirked and nodded as he lowered his glasses, showing his Sharingan spinning slowly and calmly, "Ditto." he said simply.

Hinata nodded and grinned, her headband covering her eyes even as she gestured with a thumb towards them, "Yep, got a tonne!" she said with a challenging look at Sasuke, liking the rivalry they had begun to build up.

Sasuke just glanced at her, "Let's get back to the mission." he said coldly, still blaming Hinata for the bad date and subsequent break-up, 'Not like we were officially together anyway.' Sasuke thought with a scowl as he walked ahead.

"Hold up," Naruto said, "Remember, Hinata first, then we'll follow, people will see her lack of sight and be curious but assume she can't be a Hyuuga because of her bare forehead and clothing. That way they are less likely to focus on us being Uchiha and Senju. Remember, the purpose is to pass the test and become Chunnin, not become a spectacle and make enemies." Naruto said seriously.

Sasuke and Hinata both nodded, being in full agreement about the plan since after all, Naruto was right: The goal of this was to show that they could work as a team, communicate effectively, plan ahead, have diverse skills and the will to keep going. To prove that they had the right to be called Chunnin.

##########

"Found it, right ahead of us, three more along." Hinata said as the trio jogged around the outside of the Forest of Death.

Looking up at the tall fence, Naruto frowned as they passed another clock, 'Geez, it's nearly taken us the full hour to get to our gate...' he thought, realising that for some reason, they were one of the teams that had to start at a far away gate.

They arrived a few moments later, Sasuke looking up at the clock above their gate's sign, "Alright, we have two minutes." Sasuke said.

Naruto grinned to Hinata, "Anything?" he asked.

Hinata nodded, "Yes, fortunately two of the last three teams we ran past have the scrolls we're looking for." she said surely, though a frown sat on her face she she glanced at Sasuke before looking away.

Naruto sighed not liking the fact that every time one of them spoke, the other seemed to act out, "Guys, we have to focus. I say we go straight to those older Sand ninja, were they one of the teams with the scrolls?" Naruto asked.

Hinata nodded, "Yes, why them though?" she asked.

Naruto grinned, "Well, there's a team in this exam that fights using the same styles and methods and that team is the one I'm worried about. These guys will not only give us a scroll, but give us a bit of practice against this type of opponent." Naruto explained.

Hinata smiled and nodded, "Great idea Nii-kun!" she exclaimed.

Sasuke scowled, "Fine. But how are we supposed to catch them Senju?" Sasuke asked pointedly, not liking the fact that her attention was on him.

Naruto grinned and looked to Hinata, "Take the lead, you're our tracker." Naruto said.

Suddenly, a horn sounded from somewhere inside, the gates slowly opening as they dashed inside, immediately turning to run along the inside of the fence back towards the last team's entrance point.

Nearly two minutes later, the got to the gate, Hinata slowing down, "I see the team from this gate, it's the next one we want but these guys are making camp just inside, I don't think they were prepared for this type of environment." Hinata explained as they continued along the fence line.

Naruto looked over his shoulder at Sasuke, "Hey, don't you think this is the perfect time for you and your Jungle Tigers?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke smirked as he got ahead of the other two, "Any hints on what to track?" Sasuke asked.

Hinata nodded, "One of them had a ferret on his shoulder, can they distinguish something like that?" Hinata asked.

Sasuke's smirk fell as he glared at Hinata, "Easily." he said as he formed hand seals.

**POOF**

Sasuke landed with each of his main tigers on either side, "Ferret and three ninjas, we're just locating them for now," Sasuke said with a smirk, "Let's hunt."

##########

The team of gennin from the Sand climbed higher in the trees, sitting stop some of the highest branches to look around, "Damn, it's times like this I wish the desert had more forests we could've trained in... I don't understand the lay of the land here." the one male of the team said before looking down at the two girls, "Anything?" he asked.

One girl sat in a meditative position, the wind fluctuating slowly around her, 'In the Land of Wind it's obvious when there's someone else, but with all these leaves and trees interfering, my Wind Sensing is being thrown off big time.' she thought with a sigh before opening her eyes, "It's no good, I've got nothing."

The second girl crouched on the tree sideways, looking up at her team-mates as her ferret suddenly jolted to be staring off into the distance, "Something's coming, two big somethings." she reported.

The three moved up to land on the same thick branch the meditating ninja had been on, standing defensively as they reached out with their senses.

In the distance amongst a thick flurry of leaves, Sasuke stood on a lower branch between his two tigers, all six of their eyes glowing through the darkness, "You two go for the male first. I'll take that ferret out of the equation." Sasuke ordered.

Koru leapt up higher through the trees, making it's speedy dash look like no effort at all as it leapt from branch to branch on it's way above the targets. Kuro mirrored the movements from below before the two of them roared.

"Holy shit!" the wind user shouted as she spotted the large orange tiger leaping around the branches above them, "The animals here are crazy!"

"Down here too," the ferret wielder said, "But this one looks even faster." she said as she watched the black tiger that was barely more then a blur beneath them.

As the trio focused on above and below, the two tigers suddenly landed on the tree's main body vertically, charging the trio head on from either side.

"They can use chakra?!" the male shouted as the three leapt apart.

Surprising the group for another time, the two tigers leapt up only at the male, taking a grip on either of his arms before they leapt up into the air and pulled.

"AAAHHHH!"

The two girls were frozen in fear at seeing their male team-mate be ripped apart. The ferret suddenly jolting up in front of them making them weary of another presence before the ferret was stabbed through with three kunai, "Milly!" one of the girls exclaimed.

"Now!"

The two girls looked up at Sasuke and his tigers as they took a threatening stance on the tree above them, succeeding in being distracted just in time as Naruto and Hinata heeded Sasuke's call.

"WATER STYLE: WATER BALL!" Naruto said, spitting out the basic water Ninjutsu – that he had overloaded to summon a large amount of water – so that it splashed against the branch from underneath them, throwing water into the air for Hinata.

"SECRET JUTSU: WATER NEEDLES!" Hinata shouted as the water took the form of numerous blades that began to perforate the two young girls.

Now that they were not only surrounded by water but penetrated by it, Sasuke landed in front of them with finished hand seals, "WATER STYLE: WATER PRISON!"

The two girls were stuck in the ball of water that surrounded the two of them, Sasuke's Tigers landing behind the captives as Naruto and Hinata landed next to him.

"Hinata?" Sasuke asked.

Hinata nodded and stepped up close, using her magnificent Chakra Control to pierce the shell of the Water Prison without breaking the technique, she casually reached into the ferret girl's top and pulled the scroll they needed from her bra, "Got it." Hinata said as she pulled her hand free and turned to Naruto, "Your turn." she said.

Naruto nodded and cracked his knuckles, "Alright," he mumbled before pulling his fist back, "You sure it's solid enough?" Naruto asked Sasuke.

The Uchiha scoffed, "I may have only copied the jutsu, but I copied it a level that would even hold Kakashi-sensei. Just do it." Sasuke said surely.

Naruto nodded, "Alrighty then." he said before punching the pressurized water prison.

The shell shattered as the two young women were thrown away, leaving nothing but a wet branch as their screams moved out of earshot.

Naruto turned to Sasuke and friend slightly, "Don't you think that Genjutsu was a little... over the top?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke shrugged and nodded to his tigers, "It was one of the few that my tigers know how to perform in conjunction with me." Sasuke said as his tigers revealed the Genjutsu-trapped male team-mate that his tigers had moved out of vision once the Genjutsu took hold on the two other team-mates.

Hinata spoke up, "They've made impact in a river," she said before smiling to Naruto, "Good aim Nii-kun." she said.

Before much else could be said, the captive male groaned, about to come back to full consciousness, "Sasuke!" Naruto said urgently.

Sasuke clapped his hands together, dispelling the tigers and releasing a large plume of smoke.

**POOF**

The sand gennin opened his eyes wearily, squinting through the chakra smoke as it slowly dispersed to show an empty branch, "...Wait a sec, wasn't my arms just bitten off?"

Team 7 stood upside down on the branch as the gennin above slowly got his bearings and ventured out in search of his team, "So," Hinata said as she turned to her boys, "One Heaven and one Earth, and to think, it's only been twelve minutes." Hinata said with a grin.

Naruto glanced at Sasuke, "To the tower?" he asked.

Sasuke nodded, "To the tower." he agreed.

##########

"Fucking assholes, it's like these guys are specifically following us. They don't even need another scroll." Hinata reported before deactivating her Byakugan, obviously getting sick of the three following them and setting traps all around them, "But it looks like they finally stopped for the night."

Sasuke turned to Hinata angrily, "Bitching won't do anything about it so get back to watching." Sasuke ordered her.

The two glared at each other for a moment before Naruto sighed and stood from his place next to the small fire they had made for the night, "That's it. I'm off." Naruto said before walking into the bushes.

Sasuke and Hinata glared at each other for another moment before Hinata turned away, "Whatever." she mumbled before going back to staring at the fire.

As if just looking for an excuse to tell her off, Sasuke stepped closer to her, "Hey this is important, what's your deal?" Sasuke asked.

Hinata turned to him and scoffed, "My deal? You're the one that tried to make a big deal about me not wanting to date you." Hinata said.

Sasuke turned to her full on, his sunglasses gone for the night, "That's not what's wrong here you obviously are! Every girl our age wants me including you so unless you're insane then you must be lying to yourself, I don't trust someone who can't be honest with themselves." he said surely.

Hinata waited in silence for a moment as she processed that before standing up, "Hold on, are you saying because I decided that I don't like you that I must be either lying or crazy?" she asked.

Sasuke raised a brow and folded his arms, "It's the only logical answer."

Hinata stared at Sasuke in disbelief, "Well I've got some news for you Sasu-gay," Hinata said, making Sasuke flinch at the hate-filled nickname, "Although I thought for a while that you might be a pretty nice guy, I actually found out on your weird idea of a date that you're kind of a self involved fuck stick!" she shouted.

Sasuke stepped back at her outburst, "Bullshit! I followed Naruto's date plan to the letter!" he shouted before slamming a hand over his mouth.

Hinata blinked, "Nii-kun? You got him in on this too?" she asked in disbelief.

Sasuke smirked as he realized that no matter what happened on their first date, it was Naruto's fault... or at least in Sasuke's mind it was Naruto's fault, "Yeah, he's the one who made the reservation and got the movie tickets, he even told me to follow this stupid list." Sasuke said as he pulled out a piece of crumbled paper and threw it to the ground.

Hinata blinked as she looked down at the paper, 'Nii-kun... planned those parts?' she thought as the two only highlights of the night; a movie she really wanted to see and dinner at her absolute favorite restaurant.

Sasuke frowned as Hinata seemed to go blank, so, he retreated back to his normal response when he didn't know what to do, "Hn." Sasuke harrumphed as he looked down at his sleeping bag.

Naruto walked back into the clearing, pausing at the tense air between his two team-mates, Hinata staring into the fire and Sasuke staring into the darkness, "Well... I've obviously missed something..." he mumbled as he looked between the two.

Hinata looked at Naruto with a frown, storming up to the piece of paper and grabbing it before throwing it at Naruto, "He told me. Fuck him and fuck you. You're a tool." She said before storming back to the fire and kneeling next to it.

Naruto sighed at the piece of paper as he watched Sasuke's reaction, the Uchiha bristling with anger before he began to get in his sleeping bag for the night.

Unrolling the paper, Naruto scowled, 'I told that idiot to throw this out.' Naruto thought as he read the very short list.

Keep the conversation flowing, but don't annoy her  
Don't miss the reservation under 'Hinata'  
Don't miss the movie at 2030hours, she likes caramel popcorn  
Be honest and speak confidently

Naruto frowned in thought, 'It's really not that hard, what did he do to screw it up?' Naruto thought before deciding on which one he cared the most.

Walking over to Hinata, Naruto placed the sheet of paper between them, "So... have you read it? Or are you still upset over my eavesdropping?" Naruto asked, thinking Sasuke had told her everything.

Hinata jolted to him, "Eavesdropping? You were listening?" she asked.

Naruto shook his head, "No! No not really, I mean, I was communicating with Sasuke once or twice but that was before and after you were with him."

Hinata frowned at him, "Well..." she began, not sure what else to say, "Give me the damn list." she said. Naruto passed it to her and stayed silent as she took it and opened it, reading quickly before her anger seemed to stop, "Oh... that's really all that you wrote?" she asked.

Naruto smiled and nodded, "I also reminded him to get flowers after, but I guess he forgot, hehe." he said apprehensively.

Hinata scowled, "He made it out like every mistake he made was your fault... ass-hole." she mumbled as her Byakugan pulsed on so she could see said ass-hole. Hinata gasped and looked over the fire, her Byakugan having spotted more then just Sasuke, "Nii-kun! They're here!"

Naruto's eyes snapped to the side as the first person leapt out showing the team to be three Mist ninjas, Naruto instantly formed a hand seal, summoning three shadow clones that stepped between the fire and their enemies, "Halt! What do you want?!" Naruto demanded.

Naruto's shout made Sasuke turn and realise what was going on, the boy moving to get up as quick as he could.

The one at the front grinned, "You're the ones that defeated Zabuza-sama aren't you? Senju and Uchiha," he said before glancing at Hinata, "And you must be the secret Hyuuga." he guessed as he hoisted a large sword onto his shoulder.

Naruto and Hinata glanced at each other as Sasuke came up behind them, "One each?" he whispered.

Sasuke spoke up quickly, "Wait, isn't that one of the Seven Swords?" he asked.

Hinata and Naruto focussed on the centre enemy as he used his sword to stab through the clone in front of him, showing them his Sewing Needle Longsword – Nuibari – as he hoisted it back onto his shoulder, "What happened to Zabuza's sword?" he demanded.

Naruto frowned as he looked back at the other two, "Sorry guys, but I think I have to take him on." Naruto said as he stepped forward and pulled out a scroll from under his shirt.

Hinata gasped at the scroll, making Sasuke raise a brow, "What is it?" he asked.

Naruto opened the scroll, showing several large storage seals, "I may not be able to use all of Great-grandpa's weapons, but after I got to keep this-!"

**POOF**

Naruto stepped out of the plume of smoke, using his Herculean Strength to lift the legendary Executioner's Blade – Kubikiri Bocho – up with one hand while he clicked the part-way open scroll to a special clasp on his modified medic pouch, "-well, seeing Zabuza in action and with Kaa-san's and Shizu-nee's help, I've got a pretty good start." Naruto said with certainty in his voice.

Sasuke smirked as he slammed his bandaged wrists together-

**POOF**

-making his Jungle Gauntlets appear in place, "He's all yours then. I've got the axe user." Sasuke said as he lined himself up behind Naruto's clone.

Hinata stepped back, lining herself up with the other remaining clone as she looked at her enemy's chakra, 'This girl... she has a Kekkei Genkai!' Hinata thought as her left hand filled with senbon.

The Mist ninjas looked angrily at Naruto as the boy casually wielded the massive blade like it was a short-sword, "You got to keep it?! I'll kill you and take it for myself!" the Kekkei Genkai user screamed as she formed a hand seal.

Instantly, Hinata flung her senbon from behind the Naruto clone dispelling it with the first before two of the remaining three stabbed into the girl's arm, "Now!" she shouted as the hit landed.

Sasuke leapt up into the air as the Naruto clone in front of him dove towards the axe-wielder in a scramble move meant to get his attention, making Sasuke smirk as his Sharingan swirled.

The axe wielder killed the clone and looked up at Sasuke, just in time for the Uchiha to fade as if he was a ghost, "What?" he shouted in shock.

'VISUAL JUTSU: NINJA ART: GONE WITH THE WIND!'

Disappearing behind his Genjutsu, it took little effort for Sasuke to get in close and deliver the first hit while still invisible, punching the guy in the face to stun him so that Sasuke could disarm him before using the axe and slamming it into the guy's chest.

The Mist ninja gasped in pain and shock, falling to the ground as he bled out in moments.

After Hinata's initial assault, she leapt forward as her enemy shouted in pain and turned her attention to Hinata, just as the Byakugan user took a stance, "EIGHT TRIGRAMS: EIGHT GATES ASSAULT!" she shouted as she began to systematically take out her enemy's chakra system.

Naruto and the Swordsman leapt up at each other, Naruto mirroring his enemy's moves before swinging his sword around to deflect Nuibari, giving him an opening to kick his enemy in the back and launch him down towards the ground.

The mist swordsman shouted in pain as he slammed chest-first onto the stone beneath him, barely having time to roll over as Naruto fell towards him while stabbing downward at his enemy.

The ninja breathed his last breath as Naruto stabbed through his chest and into the ground below, the blonde gasping as he looked down with a frown and closed his eyes.

Hinata's eyes were wide at the brutal death as Sasuke stepped up to Naruto and placed a hand on his shoulder, "It's okay, it's to prove our worth right? We'll have to do things like this in the field and this wasn't against our comrades." Sasuke said as he picked up Nuibari with a grunt, "And then there's this thing."

Naruto smiled up at Sasuke and nodded, reaching behind him and sending chakra into the seal for Kubikiri Bocho, making the sword disappear in a cloud of smoke, "Kaa-san taught me how to make the automated switch seal that is used in The First's scroll. I'll have a place to store it soon." Naruto said.

Hinata's Byakugan deactivated as she took the scroll from the corpse Sasuke had left behind, "Well, here we are, a second heaven scroll." she said before turning to the other two, "And these guys have made a full camp and everything, why don't we go there for the night? Leave the scent of this battle behind us?" she asked.

Sasuke immediately nodded, his mind on the mission once more and his animosity against the others forgotten, "Good idea, Naruto, you want the axe as well?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto grinned and nodded, "Yeah cool, let's get going."

##########

It was finally safe to sleep at ten o'clock on the first night in the forest of death. Sasuke had turned in using the single large tent and while it was Hinata's turn to take watch, Naruto stayed up to write out the seals with the help of a pair of clones.

Naruto looked up as they finished the first seal, though it was still another minute or two before the ink dried, "Hey... Hinata-chan?" Naruto said softly.

Hinata turned to him, her eyes hidden under her headband once more, "What is it?" she asked.

Naruto glanced at his clones, letting them start on the new seal for the axe as he moved over to sit next to her by the fire, "I just wanted to apologise, about before I mean..." Naruto said.

Hinata shrugged, "It's alright Nii-kun... after seeing what it is you actually wrote I realised that those were the only things that were good about the date. The movie, the restaurant... and I guess he was very open in conversation... though he literally never shut up." she said with a slight chuckle.

Naruto smiled, "Thanks for forgiving me, to be honest, I just wrote down what I thought I'd take you to if I was going to... y'know, take you out. It wasn't that hard." Naruto said casually as he put and arm around Hinata's shoulder, "You're the best."

Hinata blushed, 'I-if Nii-kun took me out?' she thought as she smiled.

Naruto took her leaning into his side-hug as acceptance of his forgiveness and smiled, looking into the fire as Hinata's Byakugan let her keep watch even while she rested in his grip.

After a few minutes, Naruto blinked awkwardly and looked over at his clones as they continued working, 'When do I let go...' Naruto pondered before deciding to do so at that time.

Hinata had just sighed, leaning into the hug as Naruto sat forward, making her slip so land almost face-down in Naruto's crotch, "Sorry! Sorry!" Hinata exclaimed as she sat back up quickly and took position of watch again with a heavy blush.

Naruto blinked at Hinata's actions curiously before chuckling at her, 'She's an odd one.' he thought before looking down and seeing a couple of little things had dropped out of her ninja pouch, "Hinata-chan, you dropped..." he began as he knelt and picked up her lip balm, "Some... stuff..."

Pineapple lip balm...

Just like... what he tasted on his own lips back in the Land of Waves...

Naruto just gave the items back to Hinata and turned, moving over to his clones to get back to work.

'….Did Hinata-chan kiss me?'

##########

The next morning, Sasuke woke up Naruto and Hinata, "Alright, let's move straight for the tower, I have a plan that may seem a bit... odd, at the start, but it should work well." Sasuke said immediately from opening the tent flap.

Hinata and Naruto barely were conscious as Sasuke was already talking, "Duuude, give us a second, damn." Naruto groaned as he got out of the mist ninja's sleeping bag and put on his shoes, grabbing his things from around the tent in the process.

Hinata looked up at Sasuke, a somewhat tense silence hanging in the air between them before Sasuke smirked slightly, "Come Hinata, we have to get to the tower early if we want to make an impression on the judges." Sasuke said, like one team-mate to another.

Hinata smiled and nodded, "Hai Sasuke!" Hinata said as she quickly jumped to get ready.

Less then a minute later, Hinata and Naruto crawled out of the tent to see Sasuke with his two tigers, "So... I'm guessing the plan involves them?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke nodded as he leapt up onto Kuro's back, "Yep. I'll be riding Kuro here while one of you rides Koru. The third will have to keep up but this way, we'll be leaving no tracks and be there really quickly." Sasuke said.

Naruto and Hinata nodded, rather liking the plan as Hinata leapt up onto Koru's back, "I think my mammoths might be a bit big for this." she said as she patted Koru behind the ear.

Naruto smirked, "Of course, leave me to fend for myself." Naruto said with a chuckle.

Sasuke shrugged, "Actually, an eye in the sky might be a good thing, just make sure you can see us and swoop down to signal anything." Sasuke suggested.

Naruto's smirk turned into a smile, "Now we're talkin'." Naruto said as he formed hand seals, "SUMMONING JUTSU!"

Kitakaze appeared in a plume of smoke, fluttering her wings as Naruto leapt up onto her back, "Up we go." Naruto said with a grin.

In just a few wing beats, Kaze was airborne and flying above the forest, double checking his beginner's version of Hashirama's Automated Weapon Scroll, 'Where are we off to Naruto?' Kaze thought to him.

Naruto pointed towards the tower in the distance, "Heading there, but we're gonna be keeping an eye on Hinata and Sasuke for the length of the journey." Naruto communed back as they circled from above.

Kuro and Koru dashed off through the trees at high speeds, impossibly sure of themselves as they casually darted through open battlefields and dark forests, over rivers and towards the tower.

Completely ditching the trio of Sound Ninjas that thought they had set up the perfect trap.

######

Chapter End.

Next time; Chapter 17: The Tower

Hey guys, how's it goin, that's awesome :)

thanks for reading, please R&amp;R, looking forward to hear from ya

Alky out.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter Seventeen: The Tower

"I've got eyes on one team in their way," Naruto said to Kaze, "Get us lower." Naruto said before letting go of Kaze's mane.

As they passed just above and ahead of the two blurs that were Sasuke's tigers. Naruto made a pair of Shadow Clones that fell down towards them, landing on branches just ahead so that Kuro and Koru would make a stop with them.

"What's up?" Sasuke asked.

"One team ahead, a bunch of traps that they're resting behind. Boss wants to herd them from behind into the traps. Then you guys do clean up once the traps are cleared." The clone said.

Hinata nodded, "I can see them, but it looks like they're all injured and they've lost whatever scroll they had." she said.

The second clone grinned, "Good to know, you'll meet up with them in five." the clone said.

**POOF**

With the two clones gone, Hinata and Sasuke shared a look before nodding, "Let's move." Sasuke said before the two dashed off.

##########

The three gennin from the Hidden Cloud Village leaned against a tree, all of them injured and only one of them fully able-bodied, "How long til someone else comes through? After that Leaf team we're basically stuck here." the able-bodied one shouted.

A shadow moved over them, making all of them look up only for their eyes to widen as Naruto fell down towards them, "METEOR STRIKE!" Naruto shouted as he punched the ground in between the group.

**BOOM**

Two of the ninjas were flung into their own traps as the last one was flung up into the air.

"TIGER STYLE: CATNAP!"

Sasuke leapt off of his tiger's back, grabbing the ninja out of the air and slamming the Cloud ninja face-first into the ground.

The two heavily injured but alive ninjas barely managed to get to their feet as a Hinata appeared behind each of them, ""FOUR TRIGRAMS: THIRTY-TWO PALMS!"" they shouted, focussing their attacks only on the enemy's chest to paralyse the lungs and injure all major organs slightly.

The Hinata on the left disappeared in a puff of smoke alongside Sasuke's Tigers and Naruto's Pegasus. The three gennin of team seven walking together up to the door on the tower.

Sasuke lifted his shades and put them on as his gauntlets disappeared back into the seals on his wrists, "Care to do the honours Naruto?"

Naruto glanced at Sasuke and then Hinata, earning a nod and a smile from her, "Gladly." Naruto said as he cracked his knuckles and stepped forward.

**BOOM**

As the doors swung open, the trio leapt inside, glancing around the empty room until Hinata spotted the riddle on the wall, "Hey guys? What do you think that means?" she asked.

The trio moved closer towards the sign as Sasuke read it out loud, "If qualities of heaven are your desire acquire wisdom to take your mind higher, if earthly qualities are what you lack train your body and prepare to attack. When heaven and earth are open together the perilous path will become righteous forever this – Blank Blank – is the secret way that guides us from this place today."

Naruto grinned, revealing one earth and one heaven scroll from his medical pouch as he unrolled them across the floor in front of him, "Looks like we're about to find out!" Naruto exclaimed with a grin.

**POOF**

Shizune grinned as she appeared from the smoke cloud, "Congratulations you three! Looks like you passed!" Shizune announced happily to the trio.

##########

"...and last but not least, the cafeteria." Shizune said as she opened the door to a large lunch room.

Team 7 followed her in happily as they looked around, though Naruto paused as he looked over to the only other team in the tower, "Gaara's team..." Naruto mumbled with a slight smirk, "Good, he made it."

Shizune turned back to the trio, "Anything else you guys need? You have three more nights until this exam closes." Shizune asked.

Sasuke glanced around before shrugging, "Not really... is the training room we entered open twenty four hours?" he asked.

Shizune nodded, "Yeah, and it'll only let in the people holding the scrolls that were used to open the room, so keep them available and stay together." she said.

Hinata nodded, already going over to the food, "Yep, thanks Shizune-sensei." Hinata said as she grabbed a large plate and began to help herself to the many foods available in the many heat trays around the cafeteria.

Sasuke nodded to Shizune in thanks before following after her, leaving Naruto and Shizune to say their goodbyes, "Thanks Shizu-nee, will you be around for the fights?" he asked.

Shizune nodded, "Of course, Tsunade-sama has me on duty for these exams but during the third exam we have to swap. Tsunade-sama says she has to be in the arena for some reason." Shizune said.

Naruto grinned, "Awesome, that way you'll both see me fight." Naruto said happily before walking after his team.

Shizune smiled, glancing over to the Sand team as she turned away, 'If those guys hadn't come in this morning then Naruto-kun's team would've been the new record holders.' she thought before shrugging and leaving.

Not two minutes later, Naruto and Sasuke sat down opposite Hinata as the girl had three plates in front of her, one full of dango, one full of cinnamon rolls and full a mixed platter of dumplings and other assorted treats, "Got enough Hinata-chan?" Naruto asked with a chuckle.

Hinata looked up and nodded with a grin before diving back into her food. Making Naruto and Sasuke chuckle again as they settled in to eat their own food.

Towards the end of their meal Sasuke sat forward, "Shizune-sensei said that Kakashi-sensei would be here tomorrow right?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto nodded as Hinata continued eating, "Yep, that's why I think we should just rest and recover today. Tomorrow he can help us get in some last minute training and advice before the next part." Naruto said.

Sasuke smirked and nodded, though Hinata spoke up quickly, "Y'know, the creepy guy with the gourd hasn't stopped staring at you Naruto." she said.

Naruto blinked before turning to look over his shoulder, "I met him once, I think he is curious about me." Naruto said with a shrug and waving to Gaara.

Temari and Kankuro stared at Gaara, the boy staying still for a moment before lifting his hand slightly and waving back.

Naruto smiled and turned back to his team, "Anyways, I don't know about you guys, but I'm exhausted," he said as he began to yawn mid sentence, "How about an early one tonight?" he asked.

Hinata nodded in agreement as Sasuke shrugged, "I'm going to stay up and see if anyone else makes it tonight. I'm not feeling tired just yet." Sasuke said as he stood and walked off.

Naruto and Hinata watched him go before they faced each other, "What's up with him?" Hinata asked.

Naruto raised a brow, "Umm... a lot? The exams, the ending with you, the Curse Seal and stuff. Both of you have reasons to be acting a little off right now." he said.

Hinata nodded, "What about you? Your seal makes it so that you use the Fox's chakra right? Doesn't it feel bad?" she asked curiously.

Naruto shrugged, "Yeah, it kinda does I guess. But only while I'm using it." he said.

Hinata pouted but nodded, "Okay... I guess this thing really did mess with my emotions." Hinata mumbled, thinking about the last few weeks in particular.

Naruto chuckled but nodded as he stood, offering his arm to Hinata, "Well then Hinata-chan, to bed we go?" he asked.

Hinata laughed as she accepted the offer, "Whisking me off to the bedroom?" she asked with a giggle, making Naruto blush as he realised what their words were implying, "Relax Nii-kun, let's go."

##########

Kakashi walked through the tower as six in the morning, for once extremely early though it was because of one simple reason.

The Hokage told Kakashi to be there at midnight.

So, Kakashi was left to march to the top floor of the tower to visit the Hokage himself since the man's workday also started around six.

**Knock knock**

"Come on in." Kakashi heard the Hokage's voice say.

"Good Morning Hokage-sama." Kakashi said upon entry.

The Hokage smirked, "Hello Kakashi, seems like you're right on time as planned," the Hokage said with a chuckle, "Your team made it to the tower yesterday at around midday. I thought you'd like to use these last sixty or so hours to help the gennin somehow." Hiruzen said.

Kakashi blinked, "Hmm... so three-ish days of training including today? How about... I know, I'll help each of them with a single technique while sparring." Kakashi said with a nod.

Hiruzen nodded again, "In that case, go get started."

"Alright..." he groaned as he turned and walked off.

##########

Naruto's eyes snapped open as he sat up quickly, staring down at his clenched fists as he blinked his eyes until they were clear, 'Someone's here.' he thought as he felt a powerful chakra signature hit his own.

Watching the door handle turn, Naruto's gaze snapped to Sasuke as the Uchiha sat up at the nearly non-existent sound, bringing up a kunai as Naruto sent out a Chakra String to reach over to Hinata and touch her forehead gently, making Hinata nap her eyes open instantly with her Byakugan.

Hinata sat up with a frown, "Don't freak me out like that, it's just Sensei." she said with a grumble as she rolled back over and went to try and sleep again.

Kakashi opened the door the rest of the way and eye smiled as he peaked his head in, "Hello you three, have a nice rest?" he asked softly.

Naruto nodded as Sasuke lay back down as well, "Yeah Sensei, though these two probably would like more sleep." Naruto said, pointedly keeping himself separate from the other two.

Kakashi chuckled, "I guess that decides it then, Sasuke, Hinata, take the day off and relax around the tower. I will be training Naruto for the next ten hours. Tomorrow I'll have whichever of you did best throughout the forest."

Both Hinata and Sasuke jolted up at that, ""Best?"" they asked in unison.

Kakashi chuckled and nodded as Naruto began to get ready just inside the bathroom, "Yep. I have a fair bit of information on how you guys did, so this afternoon the three of you guys are going to review it with me. Or at least the bits I feel like asking about." Kakashi said.

Hinata and Sasuke glared across at each other, their eyes burning in determination about which of the two of them would actually be named better then the other.

Kakashi blinked before eye smiling, 'Well, now these two seem motivated.' he thought with a slight chuckle before Naruto came out in his ninja outfit, "Ready to go?"

Naruto nodded with a grin as he pulled on his Senju jacket, "Ready." he said.

Kakashi lead Naruto out of the room before closing the door behind him, leaving the room in darkness again as Sasuke lay down, "Whatever." he mumbled.

Hinata frowned as she lay down as well, 'Teme.' she thought as she tried to get some more rest.

##########

"Alright Naruto," Kakashi said as the two of them walked into the training room thanks to Naruto holding the Heaven and Earth scrolls, "First thing's first, as we get started on the physical part of training, I want you to be shouting out the details of your exam so far along with all of your observations on your enemies, teams, the surroundings, anything your deemed important in anyway, I want it heard. Got it?" Kakashi ordered sternly.

Naruto blinked, "Umm, yeah, sure Sensei." Naruto said with a frown of thought.

Kakashi nodded and leapt over the railing of the balcony, landing in the lower arena as he turned to look up at Naruto, "Come on, we'll start with light sparring." Kakashi said as he took a Taijutsu stance.

Naruto grinned and nodded, "Awesome! Let's go Sensei!" Naruto exclaimed as he leapt down after Kakashi, excited to see if he could keep up with the Elite Jonin.

The two had been sparring with only light Taijutsu for nearly the full first three hours, loosening their muscles and testing each other's Taijutsu style while Kakashi analysing Naruto's style for any weak spots, but for Naruto, the exercise had been rather hard.

"You're getting quiet Naruto! Keep going!"

"SOON AFTER THAT!" Naruto shouted as he tried to parry Kakashi's kick and succeeding, though not as cleanly as he would've hoped, "WE EACH GOT TO UTILISE THE NINJUTSU WE LEARNED FROM OUR TIME IN WAVE, MYSELF WITH THE BASIC WATER BALL NINJUTSU, SASUKE WITH THE WATER PRISON HE COPIED FROM ZABUZA AND HINATA HAVING SEEN HOW HAKU MAKES THE WATER NEEDLES AND SUBSEQUENTLY FIGURING IT OUT HERSELF!" Naruto exclaimed as he continued fighting, getting better at multitasking as he fought on.

Kakashi nodded as he blocked Naruto's kick and stopped, "And that's when you got the scroll?" Kakashi asked.

Naruto dropped his stance but stood tall, "YES IT WAS! HINATA AND SASUKE LOCATED THE TEAM WITH HER EYES AND HIS TIGERS! THEN AFTER FOLLOWING MY PLAN EVERYTHING TURNED OUT WELL!" he shouted before gasping for air.

Kakashi nodded, "Stop there, take a five minute break." Kakashi said as he sat down and casually took a scroll from his ninja pouch.

Naruto fell onto his butt and panted heavily, taking out his canteen from his jacket before taking the jacket off and placing it on the floor off to the side, drinking the water from his canteen as he caught his breath.

Kakashi looked through the storage scroll, moving to one of the seals further down the line before he unsealed what seemed to be a small pile of paper. Putting most of it in his ninja pouch, Kakashi lifted one and set it down in front of Naruto, "Here, put some chakra into this." Kakashi said.

Naruto nodded as he sent his chakra through the sheet, "It's chakra paper right?" Naruto asked.

Kakashi nodded as he watched the piece of paper begin to burn only for the other half to disconnect itself to show he had both fire AND wind chakra as near equal, 'Easy enough.'

Kakashi moved a hand to two other seals, unsealing a set of scrolls, "Well then, which would you like to start on? A Wind Jutsu? Or a Fire Jutsu?" Kakashi asked.

Naruto grinned, "Well actually Sensei, I was hoping you could teach me a Lightning jutsu?" he asked hopefully.

Kakashi blinked, "Umm... why?" he asked, totally stumped.

Naruto's grin grew, "Well, I know a couple wind jutsu, a tonne of fire jutsu, a few water jutsu and only two earth jutsu I want to fix the hole in my style: Overwhelming the enemy with my huge chakra system and it's untested limits, meaning I need more Ninjutsu." Naruto said with a sure nod.

Kakashi hummed in thought, "Tsunade-sama's idea?" he asked.

Naruto's eye twitched and he pouted, "Well... yeah... but I could've thought of that too!" Naruto exclaimed.

Kakashi chuckled, "Alright then, how about a basic Lightning jutsu?" Kakashi offered as he put the two scrolls aside and reached over to the storage scroll again, unsealing the third 'Lightning' labelled seal, "This is Lightning Style: Thunderclap. By using electrical energy stored up in your hands, you can emulate the effect of a Lightning bolt hitting the ground, in short, a small but powerful shock wave with a deafening bang if the enemy is up close." Kakashi said.

Naruto grinned and nodded, "Sounds cool to me Sensei! Can you show me?" Naruto asked.

Kakashi shrugged but nodded as he slowly formed three hand seals, giving Naruto time to cover his ears as his Uzugan copied everything, "LIGHTNING STYLE: THUNDERCLAP!" Kakashi exclaimed as he clapped his hands together.

Naruto grinned, his Uzugan having copied the Ninjutsu to a basic level. His Uzugan span as he formed hand seals, "LIGHTNING STYLE: THUNDERCLAP!" Naruto exclaimed as electricity surged through his hands and he clapped.

Kakashi nodded at Naruto's use of the jutsu, though Naruto noticed that the shock wave of his version only went in a straight line in front of him for a few meters while Kakashi's had made the shock wave burst out around him in a circle for nearly ten meters, "Not good enough." Naruto mumbled to himself with a frown as he looked down at his hands.

Kakashi eye smiled, "Great first attempt though, tell you what, show me a Ninjutsu of each type that you know, got it?" he said as he leapt back across the arena floor.

Naruto grinned as he quickly blurred through hand seals and pulled out a kunai, "FIRE STYLE: HALO DANCE!" Naruto shouted before slashing three consecutive blades of fire at Kakashi.

Kakashi nodded and ducked the first while forming two hand seals and slamming his hands on the ground, "EARTH STYLE: EARTH SHORE RETURN!" Kakashi shouted, making a slab of rock pop up to block the second two.

Naruto frowned as he begun to form more hand seals, focusing as much chakra as he could around his mouth, using a tiny bit of saliva and a shit tonne of chakra to produce actual water from just water chakra, "WATER STYLE: WATER BALL!" he shouted, launching one of the only three water jutsu he knew and was familiar with.

Kakashi heard Naruto's shout and let his wall fall forward as he used the slope of it to leap up over Naruto's attack while he formed hand seals of his own towards Naruto, "WATER STYLE: WATER BULLET JUTSU!" Kakashi shouted, using the water from Naruto's jutsu to launch half of it back at him at nearly ten times the speed.

Naruto's Uzugan copied the jutsu even as he dodged as best he could forming more hand seals as Kakashi came close, "EARTH STYLE: MASS-EARTH CLONE JUTSU!" Naruto shouted as he disappeared amongst the fifty Earth Clones.

Kakashi sighed as he looked around not liking the fact that he was surrounded, 'Very good, a retreat, intimidation and powerful counter all in one move.' Kakashi thought with a nod before the first ones came close.

Unknown to Kakashi, Naruto had used his shunshin to appear on the ceiling above the arena, getting a perfect view of Kakashi as the Jonin used his mastered Taijutsu style – Wolf Fang Fist – to counter and kill all of the clones.

Naruto copied numerous maneuvers leading off of the main style, giving Naruto an intimate understanding of Kakashi's fighting style, and with his medical knowledge, he could deduce that the only sure hole in Kakashi's style was the blind spot he had while his headband was over his Sharingan eye.

Naruto formed hand seals as he focussed chakra to his hand, creating a small ball of wind chakra in his hand that swirled faster and faster before Naruto disconnected from the ceiling and turned in the air, throwing the small invisible attack like a baseball down at Kakashi, "WIND STYLE: WIND BALL!" Naruto shouted.

Kakashi barely looked up in time before he tried to dodge, receiving Naruto's jutsu to the back as Naruto fell down towards Kakashi while rapidly forming more hand seals.

Kakashi looked up at Naruto just in time as Naruto's hands crackled with electricity, "LIGHTNING STYLE: THUNDERCLAP!" Naruto shouted.

In favor of keeping his hearing, Kakashi covered his ears and took the hit of the shock wave to the chest and stomach, pushing him back across the floor with a grunt, "Very good Naruto," Kakashi said as he dusted himself off, "Looks like we can add that one to the list of what you know."

Naruto grinned and nodded, "Awesome! Thanks Sensei!"

##########

The hours passed quickly, with Naruto shouting the details of the Second Exam as if it had been a mission, Kakashi now had a good idea of who between Hinata and Sasuke where most likely to make Chunnin at this point.

And now that it was time to swap over, Kakashi decided to make it even harder on the group.

**POOF**

The door disappeared in a plume of smoke as Naruto came close to it with the two scrolls, letting Sasuke and Hinata in as the girl frowned, "How come my Byakugan couldn't see you guys in here?" she asked pointedly.

Kakashi eye smiled, "Since I gained the Sharingan I learned just how thick a layer of chakra needs to be to make it a visible wall with a dojutsu, and after a long while I learned to put that in seal form. Which is the tag you can see up there." Kakashi said as he pointed up.

The trio looked up at the ceiling, seeing a tiny piece of paper located right in the centre, "Huh... wouldn't have noticed that..." Sasuke mumbled.

"So Naruto," Kakashi said as he turned to the medic of the team, "Without saying any words at all and pointing using only one finger I want you to choose who you honestly think is closer to Chunnin out of your team-mates, One word!" Kakashi said quickly, cutting off Naruto's complaint, "And I'll pull the whole team from the exams."

Naruto blinked before turning to look over the other two, Naruto frowned before pointing at Hinata.

Sasuke bristled with anger as he glared at Naruto before glaring at the smirking Hinata, though as Sasuke closed his eyes and swallowed his anger, Hinata took that as a sign of defeat and grinned, "Ha! In your face!" Hinata exclaimed as she pointed at Sasuke.

Naruto frowned, glanced at Kakashi, then pointed at Sasuke.

Hinata blinked in confusion as Sasuke smirked, "Hn." Sasuke said with a nod, though unlike Hinata, he didn't voice his accomplishment.

Naruto grinned at his choice and nodded.

Kakashi eye smiled, "That makes one of the three of you that understands the question." Kakashi said.

"Nii-kun!" Hinata complained, "Why is Sasuke closer to Chunnin then me?!" she asked.

Naruto chuckled nervously, though with a nod from Kakashi, he explained, "Well, just then when you were given praise over Sasuke you let your emotions get the best of you, which I gotta say, not that much of a shock considering what other emotions your Curse Mark has messed with. Sasuke on the other hand, didn't... much."

Hinata's frown just got bigger as she picked up on the meaning behind Kakashi's words, "And you're implying that only Naruto understands this, meaning that no matter what he picked, it only mattered the reason why. Therefore, you think Sasuke and I AREN'T good enough!" She shouted as she pointed at Kakashi.

Even Sasuke stepped back at her shout.

Kakashi calmly picked his ear, finding a piece of... something... before flicking it away, "Well... sometimes your actions strike me that way..." Kakashi said before glancing at Naruto, "...and even though you're supposedly ready according to your mother, there're definite times that I bring that judgment of hers to question." he said.

Naruto pouted at that though after a moment, he just shrugged, "Eh, we'll see." he said, not letting Kakashi's words impede his judgment or thought.

Kakashi just eye smiled, 'Okay, so maybe he is the only one that gets it.' Kakashi thought.

Sasuke spoke up, "So... you're training me now right?" Sasuke asked.

"No!" Hinata said as she stepped between them, "Nii-kun picked me first right?" she asked Kakashi hopefully.

Kakashi sighed and turned to Naruto, "Well, it's up to you Naruto, if you seriously take everything into account, which of these two deserve the training?"

Naruto glanced between Sasuke and Hinata before pointing at Hinata, "Train Hinata first!" Naruto said as he began to walk backwards.

Sasuke bristled with anger, "What?!" he shouted before marching after Naruto, "Senju! Get back here!" Sasuke shouted as he leapt at Naruto.

Naruto spun with a grin as he stood in front of the open doorway, stepping forward to grab Sasuke's fist before they blurred away in a shunshin.

#########

Naruto spun and dropped Sasuke gently onto the ground so that the Uchiha could roll onto his feet, "Naruto!" Sasuke exclaimed.

Naruto grinned, "Hey hey! Listen for a sec!" Naruto exclaimed, "Before Sensei gets to you I want to give you something and see if I can help you learn it." Naruto said as he reached into his pouch.

Sasuke glanced around, seeing they were in the large area on the top floor of the tower, the glass roof letting in natural light onto many rings where people could spar and train, but not surprisingly, there was no one in the room.

Sasuke looked back over to Naruto just in time to catch a scroll, making Sasuke raise a brow, "Fire Style... Spontaneous Combustion?" he asked as he looked up at Naruto.

Naruto nodded, "It's a Ninjutsu Shisui made for assassination missions, basically, pure fire chakra moves through the air in a heat wave, and when they hit it causes a small fireball to appear before exploding. The thing that makes this special..." Naruto said with a grin as Sasuke read the scroll, apparently coming to that piece of information himself.

"The Sharingan can be used as the focal points, making it a three second visual Ninjutsu with no hand seals required when it is truly mastered..." Sasuke mumbled in amazement.

Naruto nodded with a grin, 'I already know the jutsu, but it's not really my style... let's see if he can do it.' Naruto thought curiously as they got started, distracting Sasuke with a new Ninjutsu.

##########

Seven and a half hours later, Naruto grinned as he tossed another shuriken up into the air, "Go!" Naruto said.

Sasuke turned around, his Sharingan locating the shuriken in mid-air before he formed a single handed Tiger Seal, 'FIRE STYLE: SPONTANEOUS COMBUSTION!' he thought as the shuriken suddenly burst into flames before one second later, the fireball around it exploded lightly.

Naruto grinned, "Nice! Once you're able to do multiple targets and do it without hand seals, then I'll teach you 'internal targeting'."

Sasuke nodded as he panted before looking up at the night's sky, "Y'know... it's been a long time since we left them in the training room..." he said.

Naruto nodded, "Yeah I guess it has been, I wonder why they haven't come out yet."

Sasuke was about to nod in agreement before he paused, "Hold on, don't you have the scrolls?" he asked.

Naruto blinked before tapping his jacket pockets, feeling the scrolls inside, "Yep... oops." Naruto said with a grin.

Sasuke sighed, "Let's go, it's time for my training with Sensei." Sasuke said.

"Uhh, one thing first!" Naruto said, "Trust me on this, you'll want food before going in there."

##########

Appearing in front of the door to the training room in a shunshin, the door suddenly opened as a Hinata clone pushed it from the inside, "Hello boys, come inside." it said before dispelling.

**POOF**

Naruto and Sasuke walked through the smoke and paused at what they saw.

Hinata stood back to back with a clone of hers, both of them in the Eight Trigrams Stance though the real her held senbon. They dropped their stance as Kakashi turned from facing her to them, "Ah good, I thought we'd been forgotten." Kakashi said with a chuckle before turning to Hinata, "Good work, now go get some food and rest, Sasuke, we'll be pushing it til sunrise." Kakashi said.

Hinata smirked at that, glad that she had gotten the first training session so that she could sleep. She looked tired as she waked from the room, smiling up at Naruto as she looped an arm through his and made him take half her weight as she pulled him along.

"Naruto!" Kakashi exclaimed, "The scrolls?"

Naruto fished them out of his pocket as he stopped walking, tossing them through the air to Kakashi, "I'll take Hinata-chan to the cafeteria, see you guys in the morning." Naruto said with a grin.

Hinata waved good bye as she walked out of the room, though the moment she stepped beyond the doorway, she fell against Naruto's side tiredly, "I think... I'd like a bath first." Hinata mumbled.

Naruto easily picked her up bridal style and used the shunshin to get to their dorm in the tower, "Here Hinata-chan, I've got you." he said with a kind smile as he carried her all the way to the bathroom and set her down on the one chair next to the bath tub.

Hinata couldn't hold back the blush from the way Naruto was treating her, she watched as he began to run the bath for her, "Thank you, Naruto-kun." she said with a soft smile.

Naruto glanced over his shoulder and raised a brow at her, "Naruto-kun? What happened to Nii-kun?" he asked.

Hinata's blush increased, "Wh-what do you mean? It's your name, so what." she said as an excuse, crossing her arms as she looked away from him.

Naruto blushed slightly, feeling slightly embarrassed at his upcoming confession, "Y'know... don't judge me for this but umm," he said as he stood and moved to walk past her to go back out to the main room, "I like it a lot... when you call me brother." he said as his hand brushed hers on the way past.

Hinata's blush increased as she turned and watched Naruto leave, 'Wh-why did that... feel so romantic?' she thought as she shook her head before clapping her hands to her cheeks, 'He asked you to call him brother! Don't think of it sexually!' she thought as she began hitting her head with her fists, 'Idiot!'

"Umm..."

Hinata froze and turned, seeing Naruto raise a brow before he held out a towel to her, "You okay Hinata-chan?" he asked.

Hinata nodded, "Fine!" she said before grabbing the towel and closing the sliding door to keep him out.

Naruto blinked at her odd reaction before letting out a deep breath, looking down at his right hand as he remembered holding her bridal style...and accidentally groping her chest, not that she noticed apparently.

Naruto turned and walked out to the room that the three of them shared, 'Hinata-chan really pushed herself today... I guess I can do her a favor..' he thought as he stepped out of the room to get her some food.

Hinata sighed as she got undressed and relaxed into the tub, hissing in pain at the bruises on her back, 'I guess Kakashi-sensei was right, I really do have a hole in my taijutsu's defense, if someone's faster then me and uses a grappling style, they can just get behind me and start laying in before I can counter...' she thought with another sigh before sinking into the tub as far as the still rising water would allow.

Seeing some bubble bath at the end of the tub, Hinata shrugged before sitting up and adding some to the water before grabbing the soap, after a few minutes, the bubbles where everywhere, the tub was full and Hinata turned off the tap to stop the water flowing.

Hinata relaxed back in the tub and sighed, 'This is amaaaazing.' she thought as she felt the hot water releasing the tension in her muscles.

Naruto reappeared in the doorway, using one hand to open the door as he had two food trays balancing precariously in his grip, 'Here we go.' Naruto thought to himself as he closed the door and set the trays down, sighing in relief before turning and glancing at the bathroom door, 'It's quiet... too quiet...' he thought with a frown before he analysed the room.

There were no signs of a struggle, but with Shinobi from other villages being around, they could've been stealthy enough to sneak in.

Naruto's eyes snapped to the single window, noticing it was now unlocked as he moved over to it, opening it wide to look out to check for any incoming or nearby chakra signatures, 'Not from here either...' he thought before his eyes widened, 'That means... if someone got her, they would've come in through the bathroom window! That's why there's no evidence in here!' Naruto thought, thinking he had just uncovered the plot of an enemy team to weaken the challengers.

Naruto appeared in a shunshin next to Hinata's tub, pausing in shock at what he saw.

Hinata jolted in shock at Naruto's sudden appearance, squeezing the bar of soap in shock and accidentally tossing it onto the floor.

Naruto closed his eyes and turned away, moving towards the door and unfortunately, Hinata's bar of soap, "Sorry Hinata-chan! I thought something happened, a-a-and I-Ahhh!"

Naruto blindly stepped into the soap bar, sliding off-balance and making him trip backwards over a chair before he finally fell back, landing heavily in the bath tub.

**SPLASH**

Hinata sat with wide eyes in the deeper end of the tub, the bubbles she had covering her earlier being splashed out of the way as Naruto tried to sit up, pulling his head and torso out of the water and grabbing the nearest things he could for support, "S-sorry Hinata-a-a-a-a-aaaaaaaaaaaauuuuuuuh..." Naruto said as he opened his eyes.

Hinata's face was glowing a brighter red then an open flame, her blush reaching all the way down her cheek and neck and onto her breasts... right where Naruto's hands were.

Naruto twitched slightly in disbelief, unfortunately, causing him to squeeze her just once.

She moaned, he shouted and ran.

Hinata seemed frozen still for nearly five minutes straight after Naruto blurred out the door, the whole situation processing slowly through her brain, 'Nii-kun... grabbed my...' she thought before her eyes closed and she blushed at the memory, her head resting comfortably on the edge of the tub while she floated in the minimal amount of bubbles.

##########

Naruto stayed sitting silently in the other room that Team 7 was sharing, the room being relatively simple in itself. Though with the look on Naruto's face, you'd this he'd just killed his best friend's pet by accident considering the guilt-ridden expression.

Hearing the bathroom door open, Naruto looked up, about to apologize when his jaw dropped.

Hinata walked out in literally nothing, smiling confidently at Naruto as she walked past him, bent over at the waist to pick up her spare clothes from her bed, and walked back onto the bathroom, all with a nervous blush but an excited smile on her face.

Naruto blinked twice as a line of blood came from his nose, though he quickly shook his head as he focused purely on his medical observations of her body to distract him from the emotional and instinctual feelings, "Three scars, two are minimal while one is not. Probably from a kunai. The minimal wounds located underneath her surprisingly developed C-cups...SHIT!" Naruto exclaimed as he held a hand to his bleeding nose.

Inside the bathroom, Hinata sat wrapped up in a towel with her Byakugan as she watched Naruto's reaction, 'Nii-kun thinks I'm attractive!' Hinata thought with a giggle at his actions as he tried to act like a responsible adult. She glanced over at her naked Shadow Clone as it dispelled.

After a few moments, Hinata's more logical and less emotional side kicked in as she processed the memories of the clone, 'I just had my Shadow Clone flash Nii-kun.., what the hell was I thinking...?' Hinata thought as she moved over and dunked her head in the tub, screaming out her frustration underwater so that it was muffled.

Hinata sat up with a gasp and pouted as she stared at herself in the mirror, 'Okay... after this thing with Sasuke, I can't reveal to Nii-kun my feelings for him!' she thought before she blushed at her own thoughts, 'Gah! Not that I have any!'

Hinata held her head for a moment before she sighed and hit herself in the head, "I need to become a Chunnin and leave the team, this is too embarrassing..." she mumbled before resting her head on the sink.

##########

"Alright everyone! Rise and shine!"

With a sudden loud pop, all three gennin jolted to their feet, feeling completely re energized but quite hungry, "Sensei? What happened?" Sasuke asked as he looked down and noticed he was still in the clothes that he had been training in while the other two were in their sleeping attire.

"Well," Kakashi began, "Since no one told me you and Naruto had been training in advance, I was under the assumption that you had at least some of your reserves left, but after you passed out from chakra exhaustion, I figured it was best I have Naruto heal you."

Naruto blinked, "But... I didn't heal him?" Naruto asked in confusion.

Kakashi shrugged, "I know, when I got back here Hinata was just settling into bed and you were passed out. I put you all under a low level Genjutsu to keep you a deep sleep as I had two of the medical ninja for the exams come check up on you three."

Naruto nodded before looking over to Hinata, the two of them blushing slightly before moving to get ready.

Sasuke sat in a meditative stance, "Sensei... my reserves still aren't at capacity." Sasuke said.

Kakashi eye-smiled, "That's okay, originally I was going to let you guys sleep through but unfortunately... the exams have ended prematurely." he informed them as he held the door open.

The trio quickly packed their things away as Hinata asked the question, "How?"

"Well, as there was a set number of teams, only half of those teams even had a chance of passing considering that by passing you're effectively wiping another team from the competition. But many teams who lose and have the chance to flee would rather protect the main mission; to make their own skills stand out. In doing so, they might destroy their own scroll to stop the enemy's advancement, or open it so that even though they lose, the other team can't collect or else be disqualified for the open scroll in their possession." Kakashi explained.

Naruto nodded as he placed his last things on top of his Storage Scroll, "So... are you saying that all of one type of scroll has been used either for entry or in retaliation?" Naruto asked.

**POOF**

Kakashi nodded, ignoring the chakra cloud as it dissipated, "Yes. But the last team that entered the tower... well they were a bit more effective in minimizing the competition then most."

"What do you mean?" Hinata asked as she slammed her hands onto her own Storage Scroll with Sasuke only a second behind her.

**POOF POOF**

Kakashi sighed, "Well... there was this team from the Sound Village and a team from the Leaf Village that found out they'd be better off teaming up and with the two teams combined; they managed to make sure that no one else entered the tower while they managed to get their own needed scrolls."

Sasuke smirked, "Smart. Though if we had been later in getting here, odds are we would've ran into them."

"Do we know anything about them?" Naruto asked, "The two teams that thought up this tactic?" Naruto clarified as he stood and tossed on his Senju Jacket.

"Sounds ninjas; we have literally nothing other then the fact that they're the only ones entered into this years exams, so they're doing pretty good. The Leaf team has been named the Knight's Team due to their names and the fact that their Sensei was the Dragon Knight of the Leaf village before he died." Kakashi explained.

Sasuke raised a brow, "The what?"

Naruto rolled his eyes, "Am I the only one that read up Konoha's history? The Dragon Knight was the person that was trained by Jiraiya AND Orochimaru of the Sannin during the last great war just before it's end. He managed to summon snakes and imbue them with his mastered fire ability so that they could breathe fire. He also had a Genjutsu that made the enemy think the snake was flying twenty meters above it's actual position." Naruto reported, having liked the idea until he realized the Shinobi's reason for dying had been relying his armor to much and having a simple kunai get between the plates of armour.

Hinata tied her headband over her eyes as she activated them, "All the training rooms are visible now... wow, I can see all the teams." she said.

Kakashi eye smiled, "Can you see all of the other competing gennin?" Kakashi asked.

Hinata nodded, "Yes... we have... twenty one gennin." she said with a frown, "I thought the maximum for the finals of the Chunnin Exams were always eighteen or less..." she mumbled as an afterthought, having seen the exams herself when she was younger.

"Which most likely means we'll be having preliminary matches." Kakashi said, "Anyway, we have to be ready for a meeting in less then half an hour, so go get breakfast and I'll see meet you in the cafeteria before you're done." Kakashi said before forming a hand seal.

**POOF**

Team 7 continued their way to the cafeteria, though Sasuke was obviously the hungriest as he hastened his pace to move ahead.

Seeing Sasuke was storming ahead and Hinata was naturally trying to take lead as the tracker of the team, Naruto found it easy to check out his beautiful Hinata-chan as she walked away...

Naruto shook his head, 'Stop. Focus. Chunnin exams.' he thought as he cleared his mind.

Hinata blushed lightly at Naruto's attention, her eyes having seen his rather obvious movements, 'Nii-kun...' she thought as she bit her lip to keep from showing to large an emotional reaction.

Sasuke on the other hand... "Log dammit where the hell is the damn food hall!" Sasuke shouted in frustration.

Hinata laughed, gesturing down their next left as Sasuke had turned a hallway too early, "This way Sasu-gay." she rhymed.

Naruto's blush faded as his eyes narrowed, 'Sasuke's seal... it pulsed when he got frustrated just then... is it's power too much for him to hold back with a depleted chakra system?' Naruto theorized before rushing to catch up to his team.

###########

'Well...' the Hokage thought as he looked over the seven teams assembled in front of him, 'So these are the Chunnin candidates this year... this will be interesting to say the least.'

###########

Chapter End.

A/N: Naruto has learned a basic technique for each of the elements Kakashi, Shizune and Tsunade could've taught him (e.g. Shizune; Water Ball. Tsunade; Wind Ball, Earth Clones, etc), along with a few other basic jutsu that are good complimentary techniques in their basic form, but which the sheer amount of Chakra Naruto packs into one of them it makes them very powerful on their own.

And Sasuke's been learning things from the Jungle Tigers since no one has learned from them in a long time, giving him a rare fighting style that is unlike most others. Mixed with his Sharingan, Sasuke's speed and reaction time is top notch(for a high level gennin), and his gauntlets have allowed many new techniques to develop.

Hinata has a bit of a mix, little bit of Shizune's teachings, little bit of Hyuuga training, little bit of Anko's training AND even the secret training she's done with her mammoths.

Please Read n Review!

Alky out!


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter Eighteen: Fight for the Finals (pt.1)

"Good morning Chunnin Candidates!" the Hokage began, "I sincerely congratulate you on getting this far, but before I continue... would anyone like to pull out now due to injury or impairment? This next exam will be... difficult, to say the least." the Hokage said, knowing that if enough people left, they wouldn't have to do the preliminaries.

Unfortunately, only one Leaf ninja – Kabuto Yakushi – wanted to pull out, 'Oh well, at least that makes it an even twenty.' the Hokage thought.

"Excuse me Hokage-sama."

The Hokage snapped out of his musings as Hayate landed in front of him, "Yes Hayate-kun?"

"Since I will be the referee," he began with a cough, "I think it's more suitable I inform them of the exams rules." he suggested respectfully, earning a nod from the Hokage.

"Go ahead, I'll just watch." the Hokage said as he sat back to enjoy the show.

Hayate turned to the group of twenty ninjas, "Now, unfortunately for you guys, we have too many people for the finals." he said.

"Finals?" Kiba asked from the far left.

Hayate nodded, "The last exam will be one-on-one fights between those of you who last through the preliminaries, and even though the finals will be held a month from now as an exhibition tournament, the preliminaries will be starting now, so if everyone could please move up to the viewing balconies, my colleague Anko will announce the first fight." he said as he turned and looked up to the balcony on the right side.

Anko nodded and leaned up towards a grill that let her be heard by the people on the other side of the wall, "Open her up boys." she ordered.

As the twenty gennin and their respective Sensei moved away, the first names came to the screen to show the first fight of the day.

"Sasuke Uchiha and Kiba Inuzuka!"

"Wahoo!" Kiba exclaimed, "Finally a chance to fight the Last Uchiha all out!" he exclaimed as he leapt down to the arena with his trusty dog following after him.

Sasuke sighed, 'Great, I only have at best a quarter of my chakra thanks to the medical ninjas, but I thought I'd have more time...' he thought to himself as he wandered over and calmly took the steps down.

Kiba seemed to be growing more frustrated at Sasuke's sedate pace, "Hey Sasuke! Speed it up would ya?!" Kiba shouted.

Sasuke shrugged and stumbled, making Kiba's eyes narrow at his feet, "Sorry Kiba, got injured pretty badly before." Sasuke lied coolly as he came to a stop.

Hinata turned to Kakashi and Naruto with a raised brow, causing Naruto to grin at Sasuke's tactic, "Deception, a ninja's greatest weapon." Naruto mumbled.

Kiba grinned as he took a Taijutsu stance, Sasuke purposefully taking one that looked like his 'weak' leg was open slightly, "First Match! Sasuke versus Kiba! BEGIN!" Hayate said before leaping back.

Kiba quickly charged Sasuke to test the Uchiha's Taijutsu, and considering he was a user of the Inuzuka's Claw Fist Style and usually the faster opponent, it caught him off guard when Sasuke's first counter took only a simple grab twist and pull on Sasuke's part to slam Kiba onto the ground.

Sasuke quickly slid back, favoring one leg as he smirked, "Is that it?" Sasuke asked calmly.

Kiba growled, letting his emotions get the better of him as he formed hand seals, "NINJA ART: MAN-BEAST TECHNIQUE!" Kiba shouted as his fangs and nails got sharper and he fell onto all fours.

Sasuke frowned, 'Nice fighting style... it looks kinda similar to the Jungle Cat Style...' he thought before smirking, 'In which case...' he thought as Kiba once more dashed at him.

Sasuke ducked the first punch only to be forced to step back as Kiba's foot swung past his face, almost cutting into his nose. Sasuke kept moving backwards, dodging Kiba's strikes until Sasuke's back hit the wall.

Kiba grinned as he thrust his claws at Sasuke's chest, "Got you!" Kiba shouted.

**POOF**

Just before Kiba's hit impacted, the two were covered in a small cloud of chakra smoke. As the smoke cleared, Sasuke was shown crouching with his gauntlets in place as Kiba's nails dug into the wall behind him, "Sharp..." Sasuke began before appearing back-to-back with Kiba in a Chakra Dash, "But mine are sharper." he said before leaping away.

Kiba turned with wide eyes as his leather belt suddenly was snapped, making the Inuzuka growl and hoist his pants up while the whole room admired Sasuke's unsealed gauntlets, "What are those?" Kiba asked.

Sasuke looked down at his gauntlets, "These are a present from my Summoning Partners, and by the looks of things, my Jungle Cats might just be the perfect counter to your Claw Fist style." Sasuke said as he took a lower stance, showing that his leg was fine.

Kiba scowled, "You lied before! You weren't injured!" Kiba exclaimed.

Sasuke nodded, "Yes, I did. And because of you underestimating me I managed to get into a position where I could've slashed your throat open, instead I cut your belt, get the picture?" Sasuke asked mockingly, trying to get an emotional reaction from Kiba.

And by the looks of things, it worked, "AKAMARU!" Kiba shouted as he crouched and began to form hand seals, the small dog jumping onto his back as Sasuke noticed the dog's change in fur colour, "INUZUKA STYLE: MAN-BEAST CLONE!"

**POOF**

Sasuke's smirk faltered as he saw two Kibas, 'Okay... two might be a problem.' he thought as he focussed chakra to his legs, ready to move at a moment's notice.

In a blur way faster then Kiba, Akamaru shot at Sasuke, forcing the Uchiha to leap up to dodge only to meet Kiba, "Take this!" Kiba shouted as he kicked down at Sasuke.

The Uchiha blocked the move and landed with a roll, coming up to face Akamaru and barely step back from a slash in time, earning a minuscule cut on his cheek as he flipped away to face both Kiba and Akamaru again, 'Damn.' Sasuke thought before shrugging and blinking on his Sharingan.

Sasuke's Curse Seal pulsed angrily at his use of the Sharingan, making the Uchiha gasp and fall to his knees in pain.

Kiba didn't know if it was a feint, or if maybe Sasuke's previous injury WAS real, he just knew that Sasuke's pain gave him an opening, "TSUUGA!"

Sasuke looked up with his Sharingan as Kiba drilled at him through the air. Sasuke barely dodged before Akamaru punched him in the face, having stayed in Kiba's shadow to avoid Sasuke's eyes.

Sasuke flipped back again and this time as he stood, his gauntlet's eyes glowed as he span just like Kiba, "Bring it Kiba!" he shouted, wanting to finish the battle as soon as possible with the seal causing him trouble.

Kiba grinned as he used the Tsuuga again, though as Sasuke's Sharingan span, he leapt up as well, the two of them yelling in unison, ""TSUUGA!""

Kiba's eyes widened as Sasuke's gauntlets actually helped him achieve the Ninjutsu that usually needed Inuzuka Claws to use. The two drilling against each other in mid-air.

Sasuke Sharingan let him still see clearly even though Kiba had to use scent to track while spinning, though even though Sasuke saw it coming, he couldn't stop Akamaru's own Tsuuga taking him side on.

**POOF**

Kiba and Akamaru stared in shock as Sasuke apparently used the substitution to dodge mid Ninjutsu, showing almost Jonin level chakra control with the manoeuvre.

"Kiba," Both Kiba and Akamaru looked up at the statue of two hands forming a hand seal, spotting Sasuke looking down at them with his Sharingan, "Is that all you can do?" he asked.

The two growled before they looked at each other and nodded, "GATSUUGA!" Kiba shouted as the two of them began to drill in unison towards Sasuke.

Sasuke leapt up in a Tsuuga of his own, though this time, the mouths on both of his gauntlets opened up, one of them letting out a continuous stream of Fire Chakra while the other sucked in air to drag the fire and Sasuke forward through the air faster, "FLAMING WHIRLWIND!" Sasuke shouted as his jutsu impacted both Akamaru's and Kiba's.

Sasuke hit directly between Kiba and Akamaru, burning them both heavily as it protected him from their claws while his own Tsuuga came through, throwing the Inuzuka duo apart with the spinning motion, Akamaru losing his transformation as he was flung up into the ceiling while Kiba fell down towards the floor, landing with a shout of pain as Sasuke landed on the opposite side of the arena, his right gauntlet and parts of his cloths on fire before he pulsed his chakra to put it out.

Kiba opened his eyes to see Akamaru falling through the air, "Akamaru!" he exclaimed, forgetting about the match in favour of catching his unconscious puppy.

Sasuke lifted his black gauntlet as he leapt into the air, "BULLET PUNCH!" Sasuke shouted as he blurred across the room at the speed of a Jonin thank to the technique, landing a single solid right cross to Kiba that knocked him out.

Sasuke fell to a knee, watching Kiba fall limp before he leapt up at Akamaru, his Sharingan fading as his chakra hit critical levels again, 'Damn, shouldn't have overcharged that new jutsu...' Sasuke thought as his own sight began to black out.

Catching Akamaru, Sasuke turned and began to fall limply through the air, hitting the ground heavily before he rolled onto his back panting, Akamaru weakly resting on his chest safely, "G-got him, Kiba." Sasuke said with a chuckle before letting his head fall to the side, though unlike Kiba, Sasuke was still conscious.

Hayate nodded as he finished checking over Kiba, "Winner: Sasuke Uchiha!"

In a second Kakashi leapt down, "Good work Sasuke," Kakashi said with an eye smile as he lifted Akamaru and set the dog on the ground gently, Akamaru sitting up quickly before moving slowly towards Kiba, "And I'm very proud of you for catching Akamaru. If I'm being honest, the old Sasuke I know wouldn't have done that." Kakashi commented as he helped the boy sit up.

Sasuke chuckled weakly as he let Kakashi help him, "The old Sasuke lived for revenge... now, I live for me and my clan," he said before smirking at Kakashi as the Jonin glanced down at him, "And the Uchiha won't let a comrade be harmed unnecessary. Especially if that comrade just helped me learn a surprisingly powerful technique that I will be sure to honour." Sasuke bragged as Kakashi helped him stand.

Kakashi sweat-dropped, "Yknow... you really aren't that good at being modest." Kakashi commented.

Sasuke's smirk just stayed in place, "Got nothing to be modest about," he said before feeling his Curse Seal pulse weakly again as the two were about to walk off, making him stumble, "Hey, Sensei?"

"The Seal right?" Kakashi asked in return as he placed a supportive grip on Sasuke's shoulder, having felt the minor pulses since he was already on high alert.

Sasuke nodded, "Something's not right... look, I know you're good with seals, but is there a chance we could see Jiraiya-sama before the finals?" Sasuke asked as they made it to the stairs.

Kakashi shrugged, "Couldn't hurt... but I think you should go with the medical ninjas, I'll catch you up on anything." Kakashi said.

Sasuke nodded, "Yeah... good idea." he said before turning and walking back down just as some of the medics had moved Kiba onto a carrier.

Sasuke paused at the door while Kiba and the majority of the medics passed him, glancing up at Naruto and Hinata and smirking, 'Good luck guys.' Sasuke thought with a nod to them before leaving behind them.

Naruto couldn't help but smirk in return, though Hinata frowned slightly, "Not even going to say goodbye?" Hinata mumbled.

Naruto shrugged, "We'll see him later, and I think something happened with his seal..." Naruto mumbled.

Hinata nodded, "Yeah it fluctuated again. But mine does that all the time, it's no big deal," she said surely, although she turned to Naruto as she noticed his somewhat horrified looking face, "..right? Is it a big deal?" she asked.

Naruto held his chin in thought, "Not really..." he said, although inside he was thinking very differently, 'With her seal being emotionally triggered initially, maybe it still fluctuates when she feels intense emotion?' Naruto pondered, 'It would definitely explain a lot of what's happened recently...' he thought as a blush covered his face, thinking about earlier with Hinata's clone.

"Next match! Yoroi Akado versus Gaara of the Sand!"

The two gennin turned their attention forward as Kakashi arrived behind them again, "Hello you two, seen either these guys before?"

Naruto nodded, "Yeah... Gaara's gonna win." Naruto said with a confident smirk directed at the boy he considered his friend, although long lost and not particularly close friend, Naruto cared about him none-the-less.

"Begin!"

Immediately after Hayate shouted and leapt back, Yoroi formed three hand seals that Naruto's Uzugan took in clearly, 'He's formed a gap in his chakra network located at the palms of his hands... it's sucking in chakra!' Naruto realized as he watched Yoroi charge Gaara.

Yoroi punched at Gaara, only for sand to come up and block his fist, though Yoroi chuckled from underneath his mask, "That won't stop me!" he shouted as the chakra in the sand faded and Yoroi's hand was given a clear path to Gaara's face.

**BAM**

Yoroi's punch made Gaara stumble back in shock. The Leaf ninja stepped forward again as he reached out with his hands, gripping Gaara's shoulders, "I'll suck the chakra right out of you!" Yoroi shouted as he began to do so.

Gaara's eyes widened as he felt his 'mother' scream inside his head for Yoroi's blood. Usually Gaara wasn't much for up close fighting, but with Yoroi leaving his guard wide open, it wasn't hard for Gaara to twitch his hand in an upward motion.

A jagged spike was made from the compressed sand around Gaara's left hand, he thrust it upwards to lodge itself straight through Yoroi's head from his throat to the back of his skull.

Yoroi jolted before he fell to the side, dead.

"Winner...Gaara." Hayate mumbled as he moved over to Yoroi's body and placed a seal on it's chest.

**POOF**

Naruto watched with a frown as Yoroi's body was sealed. He turned his gaze to Gaara, 'Gaara... that was too brutal and wholly unnecessary...what made you fight him like that...?' he thought as Gaara calmly walked back into place, his sand following and returning to his gourd on it's own.

"Nii-kun?" Hinata asked, making Naruto turn to her as he noticed that they were standing shoulder-to-shoulder, "Did you get the Ninjutsu that Yoroi person used?" she asked.

Naruto nodded, "Yeah I did, though to be able to do that will take some practice, it obviously takes an extremely high level of chakra control." Naruto theorized from his analysis of the Nin-taijutsu style.

"Oh, isn't she from your graduating class?" Kakashi asked as he pointed at the next to names on the board.

"Sakura Haruno and Neji Hyuuga, please make your way down." Hayate requested before entering a small coughing fit.

Sakura cheered before turning and running down the stairs to the arena, Neji smirking and leaping down easily, 'This will be over quickly.' Neji thought as he calmly took a relaxed Gentle Fist Stance.

Sakura turned to Neji, the boy's eyes widened as her eyes began to burn a low green light from behind her sclera.

Kurenai smirked as she stepped closer to Asuma and Kakashi, the three Jonin standing behind their gennin teams, "You know, Sakura's control is perfect. I mean it. After knowing the hands seals and the theory of a Genjutsu, she soaked it up like a sponge and mastered it." Kurenai said.

Asuma raised a brow, "Really? Do you think she can hold up to your last Genjutsu student?" he asked.

Kakashi looked over curiously, 'Didn't her last student end up killing lots of people?' he thought.

Kurenai smirked at Asuma, "You might not believe me on this... but even though she is Gennin level in Ninjutsu and Taijutsu," Kurenai said dramatically before she pointed as herself, "She is already at Jonin level at Genjutsu."

"BEGIN!"

"You may as well give up," Neji said calmly, "Fate has decided that you will lose here today."

Sakura nodded and raised her hand, forming a single handed seal. Neji tensed, expecting her to shout a jutsu of some kind, "...Okay, proctor, I forfeit." Neji heard Sakura say.

Neji paused in shock, his calm expression actually faltering as he stood tall, "What?" he asked.

"""Hahahahaha!"""

Neji looked up at the spectators with a frown, 'What's going on?' he thought.

Unknown to Neji, when Sakura formed her single handed seal, her other hand had made three one handed seals behind her back, forming her favorite Genjutsu; God Complex – a Genjutsu in which her target hears only the reactions to his questions that would mean he is being agreed with.

It worked even better on people who thought they were always right.

##########

'NINJA ART: GOD COMPLEX!' Sakura thought as her Genjutsu took effect.

Sakura looked at Neji for a moment, "...Dumbass-says-what?" She said with a smirk to test if her Genjutsu worked.

Neji faltered, "What?" he asked.

Sakura smirked as Naruto, Rock Lee and the other Sand ninja laughed openly at Neji, 'Looks like my Genjutsu is in effect.' she said as she experimentally walked towards Neji.

"Wow Neji," Sakura began, "You look kinda like Hinata, though you're a bit more feminine then her." she said mockingly.

##########

"Wow Neji," He heard her say, "You look so handsome and strong, you'd be a great clan head." she said as she walked closer to him.

Neji blushed lightly, "W-well... yes, I agree, alas... it is not my fate." he said, trying to remain cool. He glanced at Hayate, wondering why the Jonin was chuckling and hadn't called the match yet.

Sakura got within arms reach and turned sideways, "Well," she began as she filled her hidden hand with smoke bombs, "I certainly hope not!" she exclaimed before slamming the smoke bombs into his face.

**BOOM**

The force in which the smoke bombs exploded was enough to completely fill the lower arena while blowing Neji back. And while this technique made him choke for a moment on the smoke, it wasn't as effective as Sakura had wanted it to be, 'Smoke bombs! A dirty trick,' he thought as he coughed again, forming a single handed seal as he focused his chakra, "BYAKUGAN!"

In the mean time, Sakura had used the tree climbing skill to race as fast as she could up the wall and across the sealing, taking out numerous kunai with explosive tags on them that she threw around the cloud of smoke connected by wire, 'If he tries to run out then he'll pull the wire and ignite the kunai, until then,' she thought as she formed more hand seals, sensing Neji's chakra and right where to afflict it, 'NINJA ART: PUPPET CLONE TECHNIQUE!' she thought as she made an illusionary clone but took control of it, having it land in the smoke alongside Neji.

The smoke cleared to show Neji backing his stance with his Byakugan active.

"Damn, it's over." Kakashi said.

Kurenai frowned, "How can you say that? My girl's doing good."

Asuma sighed and took out his cigarettes, "Don't you remember? The Byakugan can see straight through Genjutsu. No matter how good she's gotten with it, her Taijutsu just won't be good enough against a Hyuuga." Asuma said.

As an indication of his words, Neji calmly stepped over Sakura's trap, having seen her throw the kunai down through the smoke, "Is that it?" he seemed to ask the clone before turning his head to look up at her, "Clones are nothing to me." he said before using a chakra enhanced jump to leap up at her.

Sakura dropped her jutsu and leapt to the side in a panic, dodging his first strike, though with an excellent display of acrobatics, Neji flipped around and pushed off the ceiling with his feet, aiming at her once more as they fell through the air, "EIGHT TRIGRAMS HAWK DIVE!" Neji shouted as he used his chakra and made a sharp blade around his hand, not useful against skin, but surprisingly, cutting the air so that he fell towards and past Sakura as his hand slashed across her back.

Sakura shouted in pain as her chakra network was temporarily cut, throwing off her concentration as Neji landed ahead of her and turned, slamming a palm into her stomach to make her roll towards her own trap.

Hayate appeared and caught her just in time, glaring at Neji as he knew the boy obviously meant to kill her, "Winner: Neji Hyuuga!"

##########

"Damn... she's gotten better." Naruto commented as he watched Sakura be helped to the infirmary.

Hinata nodded, "Yeah, and Neji-nii-san didn't hold back." she mumbled before her eyes widened.

Naruto glanced over at where Hinata was watching and grinned.

"Hinata of the Leaf and Tenten of the Leaf!" Hayate announced.

Hinata turned and jogged over to the stairs, her Byakugan calmly taking in Tenten as the girl launched herself over the rail like her team-mate had. The two got into positions opposite each other before taking a stance, "Just because you're a fellow leaf ninja doesn't mean I'm going to hold back." Hinata promised as she unclasped her cloak slightly, letting the bottom of it billow outwards.

"Yeah yeah," Tenten said with a smirk, "Don't be too cocky, I know all the weaknesses of the Byakugan." she said as she pulled out a handful of shuriken and kunai.

"Begin!"

Tenten immediately threw the shuriken at head height before she ducked and threw her kunai as fast as she could below them, though Tenten looked surprised to see Hinata dive forward, being horizontal at the perfect moments so that the kunai moved below her and the shuriken just barely moved above her.

Hinata landed with a roll and sprang to her feet, unleashing a volley of senbon as she charged at Tenten.

The weapons mistress pulled out a bo staff from her sealing scroll and spun it to knock the senbon away before she swung it on a collision course with Hinata's head.

Hinata showed a surprising display of flexibility as she lifted her right leg above her head, parring the staff over her safely while using the momentum to lash out at Tenten, barely missing a punch at Tenten's stomach before they separated to break the quickly dual, "You don't use the gentle fist?" Tenten asked in amazement.

Hinata shrugged, her eyes hidden behind her headband, "Sometimes." she said casually before taking the stance Shizune had taught her over the past six months.

Tenten frowned as she looked at Hinata's stance, 'It's purely defensive... but not like one I've seen before.' she thought as she moved her bo staff behind her back.

**POOF**

Tenten charged forward with two cleaver-like daggers in her hands. She slashed through the air at Hinata, only for the girl to step back and narrowly dodge the strike. Their fight continued like this, Tenten swinging and Hinata dodging, until Tenten shouted and threw one at her.

Hinata spun as she stepped to the side, her Byakugan letting her keep an eye on the flying blade as she reached out and caught it by the handle. Hinata turned back as Tenten charged in, the two clashing with Tenten's weapons.

Tenten smirked, "Now what? We're locked." she said with a grunt as she tried to overpower Hinata.

The ex-hyuuga smirked, "No, you are." she said as she raised one hand and formed a hand seal, "HIDDEN MIST JUTSU!" she shouted as her cheeks bulged before she spewed out mist into Tenten's face.

The sheer force of the technique pushed Tenten like a billowing wind for just a moment, but in that moment, the mist cloud had filled most of the arena. Tenten frowned just before Hinata kicked the other blade from Tenten's hand and caught it herself, both of them by the handle in her left hand as she formed three more hand seals and held it in focus.

Tenten got to her feet and closed her eyes, smirking as her chakra enhanced hearing picked up Hinata's footsteps, 'Got you!' she thought as she took out two scrolls and unrolled them in front of her, "TWIN RISING DRAGONS!" she shouted as she leapt up into the air and began to throw them towards the corner of the room.

Hinata smirked as her shadow clone was targeted, the clone sprinting behind the statue of two hands to dodge the barrage while using the two cleaver-blades to knock away any that got close as the real Hinata focused her jutsu.

Tenten continued throwing ninja tools before she suddenly yanked on some invisible ninja wire, "GHOST BLADE!" she shouted as she moved three wires.

The Shadow Clone saw the weapons be redirected around the statue to hit it, so it flipped backwards and began to run up the statue's back to dodge the shuriken before the clone leapt into the air.

Tenten looked up from her place just above the mist cloud and grinned, launching as many weapons as she could at 'Hinata', "Got you!" she exclaimed.

The Shadow Clone unsealed as many senbon as it could as it launched them all down at Tenten. Their weapons clashing in a barrage as Tenten got scraped and slashed by many tiny senbon, while the clone dispelled suddenly the moment it was hit with a kunai to the chest.

Tenten's eyes widened as she fell back towards the ground, but purposefully landed on the hand sign statue to look down into the mist, 'It's clearing... was I fighting a clone? Or did she substitute?' Tenten wondered, trying to figure out Hinata's tactic.

The mist was quiet as it lessened and lessened until Tenten's face paled.

"SECRET JUTSU: WATER NEEDLES!" Hinata's voice echoed around the room as the mist had formed into water and floated in mid-air around Hinata before she shook her hand, making them all launch at Tenten.

Tenten pulled out her largest shield and jumped back, though the barrage caught up to her and even though she wasn't damaged from them, she was carried through the air and slammed into the wall with the shield defending her.

Hinata shook her hands out as she formed one more set of hand seals, 'This is it! SHUNSHIN NO JUTSU!' she thought as she blurred forward.

Tenten kicked her shield to get free and looked up just as Hinata appeared on the wall behind her. Tenten didn't even see Hinata before the girl lodged two senbon into Tenten's neck, making her fall unconscious as Hinata caught her and landed safely, "She's out." Hinata said calmly as she placed Tenten on the ground.

###########

Naruto smirked as his Uzugan stopped swirling, 'Wow, Tenten sure knows how to use a hell of a lot of weapons... maybe I could get her help to master my scroll quicker...' he thought.

He turned and smiled to Hinata as she leapt up to land by his side again, "Great work Hinata-chan!" he said as he grinned.

Hinata hugged Naruto, proud that she had gotten to not only show her strengths, but prove she didn't need the Hyuuga Clan to be a strong ninja, "Thanks Nii-kun."

"Next Match!"

"That was quick," Kakashi said before patting Hinata on the shoulder as her and Naruto separated, "Hinata, you did spectacularly." he said with an eye smile.

"Kin Tsuchi and Shino Aburame!" Hayate said between coughs.

Naruto and Hinata both turned excitedly to Shino as the boy calmly leapt over the railing and landed in the arena, "Shino..." Naruto said with a smirk.

Hinata nodded, "I haven't seen him fight since... Mizuki." she said seriously.

"BEGIN!"

Kin pulled out a handful of senbon and smirked darkly, "You should give up kid, there's no way you'll beat me."

Shino calmly reached up and did something rather rare for an Aburame, he undid his jacket all the way down, showing a metallic looking red shirt underneath, "I happen to disagree, after all, it's logical that since I already have you in my four layered trap, it is you who should forfeit."

Kin scowled at his confidence and threw her senbon.

Shino spun as without even a hand seal, his Ninja Art: Dragonfly technique activated, the wings vibrating so fast that he easily knocked all of the senbon to the floor.

Kin's eyes widened as Shino turned to face her again, the boy reaching into opposite sides of jackets to pull out two Kama before he flew at her at high speed.

Kin dove to the side, only receiving a shallow slash across her arm, 'Shit! I haven't had time to activate my Genjutsu!' she thought as she stepped back and looked down at the cut on her arm.

Shino slid to a stop and adjusted his glasses with his palm, "It's now officially over, you have ten seconds to forfeit or drastic action will be taken." Shino promised.

Kin gritted her teeth, "Dammit!" she yelled angrily as she charged recklessly at Shino while throwing more senbon and pulling out a kunai.

Shino flew up over the senbon before diving at Kin, his weapons flashing through the air to disarm her, before he flicked his legs up, wrapping them around her neck before his wings lifted them into the air.

Kin choked as she barely managed to take out a kunai and stab up at Shino, the boy calmly stabbing one of his weapons through her hand to make her drop it before he suddenly dove towards the ground, letting go at the very last second to slam her head-first into the base of the nearby wall.

Shino landed and put his weapon away, "As expected." he said as he readjusted his glasses.

##########

""Damn!"" Hinata and Naruto exclaimed in unison.

Even Kakashi was stunned, "I've never seen an Aburame fight like that... and what was that dragonfly technique?" he questioned out loud.

Naruto grinned as he turned to Kakashi, "That's a Secret!" he exclaimed, making Hinata giggle.

"Good Luck Ino."

Team 7 looked over at Team 10 as the first of them had to step up, but Ino looked confident as she sized up her opponent.

"Ino Yamanaka vs Temari Sabaku." Hayate said as he looked up towards the Sand gennin curiously.

Ino leapt down over the rails in unison with her opponent, a confident smirk on her face, "So, Sand ninja huh?" Ino asked as she pulled out a shuriken, "Wanna just quit now so I don't have to hurt you?"

Temari looked Ino once over, 'Weak stance, weak mind games, weak person...' she thought before sighing, 'What a boring opponent.'

"BEGIN!"

Ino launched a handful of shuriken at Temari before following after them with a kunai. Temari simply adjusted the package in her grip, the shuriken narrowly missing her before she side-stepped Ino's lunge, 'Pathetic!' Temari thought with a frown.

Ino's eyes widened at how easily Temari dodged her attack, 'She's fast!' Ino thought, though in reality, Ino was just slow.

Temari stepped forward and thrust an elbow into Ino's nose, making her shout in pain as she fell back holding her bleeding nose.

"My beautiful face!"

Temari rolled her eyes, 'To hell with this.' she thought as she lifted the metallic object off her back and turned to Ino as the girl tried to hide her face.

**WHACK**

##########

"Winner: Temari!"

Naruto and Hinata cringed in unison at the brutal hit to Ino's cheek, "Well... that was embarrassing, I'd hate to be in the Yamanaka clan after seeing that _that _was the clan heir's effort. I mean, that was terrible." Naruto commented quietly.

Hinata pouted at Naruto, "She tried Naruto-kun, maybe this will make her take the exams a little more seriously next time." Hinata commented as they looked back up at the board, "Looks like it's your turn Nii-kun."

Naruto grinned in excitement as he looked over at his opponent, the boy nodding with a grin as the two of them made eye contact, 'This is gonna be great for me to really test his Taijutsu capabilities...'

"Naruto Uzumaki versus Rock Lee!"

Naruto and Lee leapt in unison to land opposite each other, "Let us have a splendid match comrade!" Lee exclaimed in excitement as he gave a thumbs up.

Naruto nodded and took a defensive stance and nodded, "Definitely! But I ask only one thing... do everything you can to beat me!" Naruto requested.

Lee raised a brow at that, "Do you not wish to win?"

Naruto's stance hardened, "Oh I do, I just wish for a challenge."

Lee's eyes suddenly burned with intensity, "OOOOOHHHH GAI-SENSEI! I HAVE FOUND SOMEONE WHO WISHES TO FACE THEIR CHALLENGES AS YOUTHFULLY AS MYSELF!" He exclaimed suddenly as tears poured from his flaming eyes.

Naruto's stance faltered at that proclamation, though before he could say anything, Lee's Jonin Sensei hopped up onto the rail, "GO LEE! FOLLOW YOUR NEW RIVAL'S FOOTSTEPS AND RAISE HELL! LET YOUR YOUTH EXPLODE!"

Naruto wasn't sure whether it was a trick or not, but since Gai was yelling over Hayate's announcement of the match beginning, Naruto decided to test Lee's reflexes with a straight right.

**BOOM**

Naruto's eyes widened as Lee slid back barely a meter, his feet having physically dug into the ground to hold him upright as he blocked Naruto's punch with a cross-block, 'He can block that?!' Naruto thought in amazement, his slight hesitation costing him greatly.

"LEAF WHIRLWIND!" Lee shouted as he sweep kicked at Naruto, making the boy stumble before Lee swung his full momentum into his strongest kick.

**BOOM**

A shock wave resonated from the impact of Lee's punch to Naruto's guard, forcing the two to slide apart for a moment.

They took their beginning stances again, the same anticipatory grin stretching across their faces before the both disappeared in a blur.

**BOOM**

Landing a punch to one another's cheeks, the two were left with red marks as Lee slid back in a crouch and Naruto used the momentum to flip into a handstand and push away to land on the other side of the field.

Lee was looking at the ground for a moment before he raised his head, his facial expression completely serious as the Flames of Youth burned in his eyes, "Naruto-kun... I can tell that if I want a chance against you I'll have to go all out...' Lee thought as his stance lowered.

Naruto's Uzugan eyes swirled, 'Damn he's fast, at this rate I'll probably have to remove my weights if I want to keep up with his Taijutsu.' Naruto thought as his eyes narrowed.

Lee's after image faded as he appeared to be little more then a blur charging at Naruto. Naruto stepped back, taking a somewhat familiar stance to those that had seen the earlier fights before he blocked or parried each and every one of Lee's strikes.

Kakashi had his headband pulled up as he watched the fight, "Isn't that... Wing Chun?" Kakashi asked as he looked at Hinata.

The girl nodded, "Yeah, Nii-kun had the basics down years ago thanks to Shizune-sensei, but it wasn't really his style until his Uzugan developed, and honestly, after seeing that Nii-kun's immense strength can't put Lee down, he's probably doing his best to analyse Lee's fighting style." Hinata guessed.

Overhearing Hinata's commentary Asuma raised a brow, 'He knows multiple Taijutsu styles? Mastering one is hard enough...'

Naruto parried one of Lee's punches before stepping back as he found Lee's weak spot during his straight-punches. Lee aimed for Naruto's face, but the blonde suddenly stepped forward as he used one hand to parry Lee's strike while his other hand shot out, twisting his arm underneath Lee's outstretched arm to land a back-fist to Lee's chest.

That one hit, and the tide turned.

Naruto's first strike knocked Lee off-balance so that Naruto could swing his other arm around the land a chop to Lee's stomach, making the green clothed gennin keel over before Naruto lashed out with a kick into Lee's chest, throwing him across the arena in a blur that in most situations ended with a crater and an unconscious victim.

And though the crater was there, it was formed by Lee's feet as he had flipped to land safely before he shot off at Naruto like a rocket, "DYNAMIC ENTRY!"

Naruto dropped to his knees before punching the ground below him, making the tiles and the ground beneath flip up into view for Lee. The green clad boy kicked it away before spotting the tail-end of Naruto's jacket move behind another rock, "LEAF WHIRLWIND!" Lee shouted as he kicked the first rock out of the way before slamming his foot into the massive tile he'd thought he'd seen Naruto dash behind.

Lee watched the tile shatter as it crashed into something, though Lee's eyes widened as he realised that 'something' was just Naruto's jacket caught on a rock. Lee's eyes snapped to the side as he realised his mistake.

Naruto appeared behind Lee and swung a punch towards Lee's back, but the Taijutsu expert spun and raised his arms in a cross block to take the hit that slid the two of them apart from the force.

Naruto panted with a grin on his face, 'I haven't been pushed this hard since we got here to the Leaf, Lee is easily as fast as Haku was.' Naruto thought.

Lee's playful smile was gone, replaced with a serious frown, 'Incredible! Naruto-kun must be a genius to achieved this level of power, then again, he was trained by one of the world's best at Taijutsu... truly, a perfect rival!' Lee thought as his eyes burned with fire.

Naruto took his Wing Chun stance once more, though this time, he was facing Lee side-on, he gestured for Lee to come at him again.

"Lee!"

Everyone in the room turned to look at Maito Gai as the Jonin gave a thumbs up to his student, "Take them off Lee! Show they the truth to being Genius of Hard Work!" Gai exclaimed.

Lee grinned as he knelt, lifting his leg warmers to reveal his leg weights.

Naruto's eyes narrowed before he knelt himself, 'I don't know what all of those seals on his weights are, but there's no way he can use them.' Naruto thought as he flicked up the ankles of his own pants and took off the small bracelet with a single 'Weight' Seal on it.

Lee paused as he watched Naruto stand and hop into the air while kicking out both his legs, making a small indentation on the opposite walls of the arena... and by small I mean the size of a body, "Naruto-kun! How much weight is it that you carry with those seals?" Lee asked.

Naruto grinned, "One hundred kilograms each, and you?" he asked.

Lee's grin grew to cover his face, "That is a surprisingly large amount of excess weight to carry! Though I must point out that this is one competition I've won my eternal rival!" Lee shouted.

Naruto's eyes narrowed as he watched Lee lift his weights into the air, "The fight's not over yet Lee."

Lee nodded as he tossed his weights over his shoulders, "No, I mean I carry more weights! One Hundred for you!" Lee began before his airborne weights hit the outer wall of the tower and literally broke through the wall of solid concrete, making sunlight pour in and blind Naruto for just a second.

And a second was all that Lee needed.

"And Four Hundred for me! LEAF RISING WIND!"

Naruto looked down just in time to see Lee kick his chin, launching him into the air before Lee appeared above him, ready to punch down at Naruto at a speed so blinding that only Kakashi and Gai saw it coming.

Lee's punch shot at Naruto's face like a bullet, but thanks to his Uzugan, he could still keep up with Lee enough that he managed to raise his hand to Lee's punching arm.

**BOOM**

Naruto shot down to the ground, landing feet first just like Lee and making a crater while Lee landed safely, but with a frown on his face, "Great work Lee, but do you really think I'd take a shot like that without making some form of victory out of it?" Naruto asked.

Lee frowned as he went to take his stance again, though his eyes widened when his attacking wrist stayed limp along with the muscles in his hand, "What?!" Lee exclaimed as he flailed his arm, making it obvious he had control of everything up until his non-responsive wrist.

Naruto lifted his hand, showing a slight haze around it invisible to the naked eye, "The Chakra Scalpel. I cut all of the nerves, tendons and major muscles just before your wrist," Naruto said before calmly taking the Wing Chun stance again, "Now come on Lee! That better not be all that you have!" Naruto exclaimed excitedly.

Lee looked down at his useless hand before swapping his stance to put his defensive hand forward, 'I may not be as fast this way, but with my force, even a dead-limb can cause damage.' Lee thought as he held his injured arm behind his back and disappeared in a blur.

Naruto ducked just in time to dodge a kick before Lee was gone again, making Naruto step to the side to dodge a right straight, 'Shit! He's still faster then me!' Naruto thought as he realised that Lee was focussing purely on his speed to build up momentum.

"LEAF FALLING BRANCH!"

Naruto looked up as Lee appeared as a spinning ball, suddenly launching out a leg that Naruto caught, the impact letting out a shock wave before Lee flailed his limp arm at Naruto unexpectedly, back-handing him across the face before Lee followed with a focussed left-straight punch at Naruto's chest.

Showing a high level of mastery of Wing Chun, Naruto just barely parried Lee's strike so that for just a moment they were within each other's guards and while Lee had one injured hand unable to defend him sufficiently, Naruto wasn't suffering from any wounds that would hinder him in this fight, which meant one simple thing.

Two fists versus one.

Lee managed to block the first strike only for the second strike to break his guard and fling him across the room like a rag doll, making Naruto grin, 'Yes! I've still got this!' he thought as he chased after Lee.

The green gennin gasped for air as he barely managed to roll to his feet, he looked up only to dive to the side as Naruto's Heaven's Kick of Pain impacted the area and blasted what was left of the far wall of the arena out into the forest itself.

Lee glanced outside, 'I can't do this without some kind of upper hand!' he thought as he saw the obvious escape route as well as trap setup. Lee leapt back through the air to land on the Hand Sign Statue, "Proctor-sempai! Is there any out of bounds laws for the match?" Lee asked as he looked over to Hayate.

The sick man shook his head with a smirk, "No, since the matches have always stayed inside the building up to this point there's been no need for one so... there's no area limit." Hayate said.

The Hokage sighed, taking out a crystal ball from his cloak, 'This is unexpected.' he thought as he formed a series of one handed seals with his spare hand.

Naruto's eyes narrowed, 'Let's see what he does against Ninjutsu!' Naruto said as he began to form hand seals.

Lee saw Naruto's hand signs and looked towards his Sensei pleadingly. After a moment, Gai nodded with a sparkling grin, "Do it Lee!"

Lee crossed his arms and shouted in concentration, "HOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAA!"

"FIRE STYLE!" Naruto began as he pulled out a kunai, "HALO DANCE!" he shouted as his kunai burst into flames and he disappeared in a burst of speed, launching a blade of fire at Lee.

Lee's arms flexed, "THE FIRST GATE! OPEN!" he shouted as chakra burst from around his feet and he simply disappeared.

Naruto blinked as Lee moved at him out of the corner of his vision, 'So fast!' Naruto thought as he began to raise a block only to be punched in the face.

Naruto shot outside of the tower and Lee chased after him, kicking Naruto's back to throw him into a tree.

##########

"Hayate!" The Hokage said, "Follow them and be ready to call the match and remember to abide by the rules. Do not interrupt unless it's over." he said as he lifted the crystal ball in the air.

Hayate nodded and dashed out before Anko leaned into earshot, "Hey Hokage-sama? Can't we follow and see the fight?" she asked.

Hiruzen tossed the crystal ball into the air and it suddenly expanded, giving them all a view that basically made it as the though area was the middle point between Naruto and Lee as the two took their stances again, though Naruto had blood dripping from his lip.

Off to the side at the back, Tsunade smirked as she looked up at Naruto as he was beginning to lose, but still had that excited grin on his face for the new challenge, a new way to test his skills, 'C'mon brat... this is no time to hold back, even if you've done a one-up with that damage to his wrist.' Tsunade thought worriedly.

##########

Naruto spat the mouthful of blood aside, "Is that it?" Naruto asked as his eyes span and his Uzugan morphed, letting him activate some medical chakra in his system to start healing the damage without hand seals.

Lee crossed his arms again, 'He's a medical ninja! He'll heal the superficial damage I can give him with this power!' Lee thought as he crossed his arms again.

Naruto frowned, "No way, one gate was unbelievable enough at our age!" Naruto exclaimed as he leapt up into the air and formed hand seals.

"THE SECOND GATE! OPEN!" Lee shouted as his chakra burst from him and he blurred at Naruto, hitting with another Leaf Rising Wind before he appeared in mid-air behind Naruto and made his bandages encircle Naruto, 'Got you!'

Naruto disappeared.

Lee's bandages constricted nothing before Naruto appeared behind Lee holding the other end of the bandages, "Never trust your eyes against me Lee!" Naruto said as he pulled hard.

Lee's eyes widened as he was pulled into his own jutsu, 'What?!' Lee thought as Naruto began to spin them as fast as he could towards the ground.

Naruto grinned, making up the move he thought of on the fly, "HALO DROP!"

Unfortunately, Lee knew this technique very well, so he knew the one weakness it had, "THE THIRD GATE! OPEN!" Lee shouted as the bandaged burst slightly off of him with his massive chakra output.

Lee blurred out of Naruto's grip, "HIDDEN LOTUS!" Lee shouted, reappearing with a palm thrust-kick combo to Naruto's face and sternum at the same time Naruto's back slammed into the ground.

**BOOM**

Lee flipped away from the dirt cloud to land on a tree's branch, watching as two other trees fell down over Naruto, 'There's no way he could've come back from that.' he thought surely, glaring down into the slowly visible crater just to make sure.

Naruto calmly walked out of the smoke cloud, dusting dirt off of his pants and singlet, 'Geez, if I didn't have my ultimate defence – Susano'o – that would've ended it for sure.' Naruto thought as he looked up at Lee, his Mangekyou fading as he focused his chakra to form a familiar jutsu.

Lee fell to his knees, 'No! How?!' he thought as he gritted his teeth and forced himself to his feet, crossing his arms, "To protect my way of the ninja! I will not stop here!" Lee shouted.

Naruto's eyes moved around the area, memorising everything before he formed his chakra, 'Ready, just circle him back towards the tower, there are too many variables out here.'

"The Fourth Gate! Open!" Lee screamed as his skin changed colour and the green chakra began to pour out of his body steadily.

##########

"GAI YOU IDIOT!" Kurenai shouted as she shook her fellow Jonin senseless, "WHAT THE HELL WHERE YOU DOING TEACHING HIM THIS?!"

Gai simply gave a thumbs up, "I-it seemed l-like a good idea..." he weakly groaned.

##########

Naruto's eyes widened as Lee disappeared, but to the shock of everyone, Naruto easily parried the blow.

Lee's eyes widened, 'What? He could barely keep up with me before! How is he doing it now?!' Lee thought as he charged the boy only to see him blur towards the Tower of Death again.

Naruto's Uzugan was spinning at intense speeds, letting him maintain the Shunshin technique that let him propel himself as fast as Lee and then some, 'This is awesome!' Naruto thought as he blurred ahead.

Naruto dove to the ground to dodge the shuriken thrown over him, he turned around only to see Lee throw a massive boulder down towards him before Lee disappeared again, ripping a small sapling from the ground and charging Naruto with it.

Naruto Shunshinned to the top of the boulder and leapt up into the air, kicking the boulder down at Lee as he did so before Naruto landed and once more disappeared in a shunshin.

Lee raced after him, "How!?" he shouted in frustration as he leapt up and threw the sapling at Naruto.

The blonde turned with wide eyes before he ducked the sapling, only for Lee's fist to bury in his face.

Lee's eyes widened, "I see! You're using a Ninjutsu to maintain your speed!" Lee exclaimed, making the bloody blonde frown as he used the shunshin to leapt back towards the tower.

Lee chased after him while throwing out a few shuriken, forcing Naruto to stop and restart his jutsu to dodge the shuriken before Naruto barely managed to dodge Lee's fist.

Lee's leg shot out at Naruto's shin, but the blonde lifted his foot and took the kick to his ankle, spinning with the momentum and nearly hitting Lee before the gennin hit him again in the chest.

##########

"There it is." Tsunade mumbled with an anticipatory grin on her face.

Hiruzen glanced behind him at Tsunade, "What is it?" he asked, only seeing that Naruto was losing.

Tsunade chuckled, "Naruto's accepted the fact that he's losing this Taijutsu match... it'll be over soon."

Ibiki frowned as he commented, "Y'know, I thought you'd be more upset that Naruto would lose." he said.

Tsunade openly laughed, getting the attention of many, "Oh please, you think my boy would lose? No matter what happens here there is one things that Naruto will always do."

"And what's that?" Gai asked loudly.

Tsunade grinned, "He'll win."

##########

Naruto's Uzugan eyes glared forward as they span, 'Come on!' he thought as he once more saw the green blur shooting towards him once more.

Lee's fist shot out at the same time Naruto lurched forward, making Lee's fist crack directly into Naruto's skull.

Blood sprayed as Lee stepped back, nursing his broken wrist, 'Damn!' Lee thought before turning to deliver a kick to Naruto's chest.

Naruto quickly spat a mouthful of blood onto his hand before leaning into Lee's kick, his body flinging back as he slashed the blood through the air and into Lee's eyes.

Naruto clapped his hand together in a familiar Ram seal as he Shunshinned at Lee head-first, the green-clad boy only just managing to clear his eyes in time for Naruto to land a full tilt head-butt to Lee's sternum.

Naruto took a grip of Lee's broken wrist and squeezed, making him shout in pain before Naruto focused as much chakra to his feet as he could and leapt up into the air, dragging Lee with him.

Since he had a grip on Lee, it didn't matter how fast the broken boy was as with Naruto's first punch he broke Lee's already disabled arm.

Naruto punched Lee square in the face with a move that had caused other heads to explode, though with Lee, he took the hit and glared groggily just past Naruto as if in a daze, 'What will it take to knock him out?' Naruto thought as the duo rose high above the forest and even above the tower.

Naruto looked down, his Uzugan calculating their trajectory and making Naruto smirk, 'Yes!' Naruto thought as he clocked Lee once more.

'No!' Lee barely managed to think through the pain and the daze as he felt another truck-like impact hit his face, 'All of my hard work... for nothing!?' Lee thought before he shouted in pain.

Naruto had grabbed Lee's bandages and wrenched them back towards him, wrapping Lee's arms around his chest before Naruto grabbed Lee's ankles and began to spin during their descent.

Naruto shouted in effort as he threw Lee at the roof of the tower, embedding the boy into the rock itself before Lee hastily got to his feet, looking up just in time for Naruto's feet to hit his chest, "HALO STOMP!" Naruto shouted as his kick slammed into Lee from above.

**BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM**

##########

"Everyone step back!" the Third Hokage shouted as his crystal ball began to shrink, showing Lee looking up just as Naruto yelled out his manoeuvre.

**BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM**

Everyone looked up as Naruto smashed Lee's body through the ceiling and into the ground, kicking up a dust cloud while shaking the whole tower.

Hayate ran back in through the first hole that Lee had made, his eyes trained on the two people standing in the centre of the dust cloud, 'How are they still up?' Hayate thought in amazement as the dust began to clear.

Everyone looked down at Naruto as the boy panted heavily, the whole front of his singlet covered in his own blood from Lee's brutal beating, 'Just stay down dammit!' Naruto thought as he charged at Lee one last time

"Stop!"

Hayate and Naruto stopped as Gai landed in front of Lee, catching Naruto's punch that let out a massive shock wave with seemingly little effort on his part, "Gai!" Hayate shouted, "By interfering you just cost Lee the match!"

Gai gave Naruto a thumbs up, "Alas, you have already won Naruto-kun," Gai said before turning to Lee as the last of the dust cloud fell, "My Lee's will just won't be put down!"

Lee was clearly unconscious if his limp facial expression and dull eyes said anything, but the broken and still tied up Lee stood on two shaky feet anyway, as if ready to go on.

Naruto blinked in shock before smirking in amazement, 'He's definitely the strongest gennin out of this bunch.' he thought.

Hayate chuckled, "Winner: Naruto!"

###########

Chapter End.

Hope ya'll enjoy it! Please R&amp;R folks!

Alky out!


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter Nineteen: Fight for the finals (pt.2)  
Sensei for a month

"Next fight!" Hayate announced, "Misumi of the Leaf and Dosu of the Sound!"

Naruto sat holding the Bird hand seal as he watched the two gennin leap down into the arena. "How's it going Naruto?" Kakashi asked as he knelt next to Naruto on the balcony.

Naruto smiled weakly, "It's good so far, Lee is really powerful, I have to train with him some time." he said with a chuckle before redirecting his attention back to one of the last fights.

"BEGIN!"

Kakashi patted Naruto once on the head as Hinata sat by his side and hugged his arm to her chest, excited that her Naruto had won while not realising his blush at the contact with her chest.

**CLANG**

Naruto's attention was caught by the two in the arena a Misumi's kunai clashed with Dosu's gauntlet, making Naruto frown as he saw the chakra move around inside the gauntlet in an odd way that was too odd looking for him to comprehend in such a short amount of time.

"Gah!" Misumi hacked up a mouthful off blood before falling to his knees, giving Dosu the opportunity to charge forward in hopes of ending it.

Misumi moved at the last moment, dislocating his joints to wrap his arms and legs around Dosu's torso as the two of them fell to the ground, Misumi's limbs getting tighter and tighter around Dosu until a sickening crack was heard and Dosu let out a shout of pain before suddenly his shout turned to such a high pitch that Misumi began to become nauseous in seconds, giving Dosu the opportunity to finish the fight quickly and brutally.

Dosu twisted his body before slamming an elbow into the easily dislocated Misumi's jaw to knock it free and give him enough room to punch his gauntlet down Misumi's throat before sending chakra to his sound gauntlet, making the gagging Leaf ninja shout in obvious pain before his lungs burst from the inside of his chest and he fell limp on Dosu.

The Sound ninja wormed his way to freedom before glaring at his dead enemy, "Damn fool." Dosu thought as he spat out a glob of blood and looked down at his broken calf bones.

"Winner: Dosu." Hayate said with a frown as he begrudgingly sealed away another body.

##########

"That was fucked up." Hinata mumbled in awe as her eyes analysed the dead body before it was sealed away.

Naruto nodded, "Yeah it was... how many more to go?" he asked.

Hinata smiled from her place next to Naruto, still holding his arm happily, "I think there's only Shikamaru, Choji and a gennin from each of the Sound and Sand villages."

Naruto nodded in thought, 'I hope Shika and Choji can just fight each other so they both get a simple spar without hurting one another...'he thought as he watched the screen scroll through names before it stopped on two, 'Looks like it wasn't to be after all...'

"Shikamaru of the Leaf and Kankuro of the Sand!" Hayate announced so that they all could hear.

Shikamaru sighed as he glanced at his opponent, the other boy doing the same, but unfortunately, Shikamaru was a bit more informed and a bit more...confident, 'Huh... here I thought this'd be a perfect time to drop out, but since that Suna ninja is obviously a puppeteer, I can finish this in two moves.'

'Short gait, slouch, no discernible key weapon...' Kankuro thought as he came to a stop facing his opponent, 'This guy doesn't seem to strong.' Kankuro thought as he took a stance and took the package off his back.

Shikamaru raised a brow before his eyes narrowed, 'I see, the reason he wears that outfit is to hide his joints... because he's really the puppet! I bet he's hiding inside those bandages, wow, way to make this easy for me.' he thought with a sigh.

Kankuro's eye twitched as Shikamaru disregarded him, "Hey, you ready to fight kid?" Kankuro asked.

Shikamaru glanced between Hayate and his opponent, "Can we just get this over with already? I got stuff I want to do before the day's out." Shikamaru queried.

Kankuro scowled angrily as he looked at Hayate, "Proctor..."

Hayate sighed, "Begin." he mumbled as he leapt back.

Kankuro dropped his package and charged at Shikamaru while pulling out a kunai, making the shadow user sigh as he formed a single hand seal.

Kankuro leapt up into the air, hoping to hit Shikamaru before he could activate whatever jutsu he appeared to be building up to, but suddenly, he froze before falling limply to the ground right in front of Shikamaru.

Shikamaru chuckled, "Shadow Possession Success." he said as he calmly walked over Kankuro's 'body', making everyone see the package moving in unison with Shikamaru even though it was still on the ground.

Crouching next to Kankuro, Shikamaru pulled at the loosely tied bandages to reveal his trapped enemy's face, "Y'know, normally this is when I have a team member finish you off, so realistically, I've won. We both know that," Shikamaru said as he pulled out a kunai, "But since you already tied yourself up, you physically can't imitate me, meaning I can just slowly push this through your face. Do you want me to push this through your face?" Shikamaru asked as he tapped the flat side of his knife against Kankuro's nose.

Kankuro gritted his teeth angrily, "Dammit!" she shouted angrily as he did his best to move, only managing in shaking a teensy bit as he built up a sweat.

Shikamaru smirked, "You do know that this'll hold you for up to a week right? No effort on my part." Shikamaru lied perfectly.

Kankuro sighed, "Oh crap for real?" he asked as he groaned, seeing no other option, 'Shit, this completely screws with the plan for the finals...' he thought before giving up, "Fine... I forfeit." Kankuro said.

Shikamaru sighed as he stood, his shadow returning to normal as Hayate called the match, 'At least my mom won't be angry, after all, I made it to the finals.' he thought as he tried to see a positive in the situation.

"Winner: Shikamaru! Which leaves Zaku of the Sound and Choji of the Leaf as the final match!" Hayate announced.

Choji leapt down in excitement, high-fiving Shikamaru on his way past, "Show them how to do it Cho, don't hold back." Shikamaru said before turning towards the stairs.

Choji grinned at Zaku, "I hope we have a good match, let's keep it clean alright?" he asked as he offered Zaku a handshake.

Zaku looked down at Choji's hand and scoffed, "Are you kidding fatty? Fuck you tree huggers, every last one of you." Zaku said honestly as he slapped the back of Choji's hand.

Choji's pupils dilated as he began to breath heavily, "What did you... call me?" Choji asked in an enraged whisper.

Hayate's eyes gulped, "Shit... umm, BEGIN!" he shouted urgently.

Choji took a defensive stance as Zaku raised his arms, "DECAPITATING AIRWAVES!" Zaku shouted before blasting two funnels of wind.

Choji dove behind some of the debris from Naruto and Lee's fight, using it to protect him before he made a few hand seals, "Don't call me FATTY! PARTIAL EXPANSION JUTSU!" Choji shouted as he picked up a large chunk of tile with his enlarged hand and threw it at Zaku.

Zaku used his wind funnels to destroy the oncoming debris before he ran forward to find Choji, leaping up over a rock to get a shot at him, "DECAPITATING AIRWAVES!"

Choji rolled back to land on his feet before his legs enlarged slightly and he jumped up to meet Zaku head on, the Sound ninja barely dodging with a spin before facing Choji from behind and blasting another funnel of wind.

Choji formed a substitution with a single hand seal, appearing behind Zaku just as the boy was about to land back on the ground, swinging an enlarged punch that hit Zaku's whole back and threw him forward with the force of a bull's charge.

Zaku rolled painfully across the ground, managing to raise his arms and shoot off two blasts of wind that forced Choji to leap behind more debris for cover from the first one before he leapt up, perfectly timing his way to bounce off a piece of airborne earth from Zaku's attack and letting him move up out of the hole in the ceiling, disappearing from view.

Zaku blinked in confusion, "What the hell was the point of that?" Zaku asked rhetorically, squinting up at the piercing light that was blocking him from seeing outside.

"HUMAN BOULDER JUTSU!"

Everyone's eyes widened as Choji's jutsu literally brought what remained of the roof down on top of Zaku, the Sound ninja managed to blast away the chunks of cement and wood falling down at him before Choji himself crashed through from the other side and hit the screaming Zaku full on.

**BOOOOOOOM**

##########

"Oooh..." Naruto groaned as he looked at the crushed form of Zaku, "And here I was hoping to get a look at his arm mechanisms." he mumbled with a frown as Choji shrunk back to his normal self.

Hinata nodded before looking up at Kakashi, "So, now what Sensei?" she asked.

Kakashi eye smiled, "Now, the Second exam is over, and we have one last thing to hear from the Hokage." Kakashi said as he ushered the two forward to follow the other gennin down to the arena floor, lining up in their teams in front of the Hokage.

Hiruzen looked over the group in front of him, seeing that Team 7 was the only full squad to have made it through to the third exam, 'Fantastic, this'll look great to the Daimyo.' he thought before clearing his throat, grasping the attention of everyone.

"Congratulations one and all for passing officially to the third exam! Although before I have your Jonin leaders take you back to the Leaf, there's a few details about the upcoming exams that you do need to know about..."

Naruto zoned out of the speech as he looked over Hiruzen's shoulder, seeing Tsunade standing with a proud smile on her face which caused him to stand a bit taller and grin in return.

Naruto paused and began to pay attention again as Hayate held out a box to the first person in the row facing the Hokage, but it was Anko's words that caught his attention, "Just shout out your name and the number you got, I'll shout out for those who're missing." Anko said as he held it out towards Gaara.

"Gaara, 5."

"Temari, 3."

"Choji, 1."

"Shikamaru, 8."

"Shino, 10."

"Neji, 2."

"Hinata, 4."

"Naruto, 7."

"Sasuke, 9."

"Dosu, 6."

##########

"Congratulations you three, you all did very well." Kakashi said with an eye smile directed towards Hinata and Naruto as he carried the unconscious Sasuke on his back.

Naruto and Hinata beamed up at Kakashi, "Thanks Sensei!" Hinata exclaimed.

Naruto nodded as well, "Yeah, thanks Sensei, so, what are we going to do over the next month?" Naruto asked, wanting to know exactly what he should be ready for.

Kakashi chuckled, taking lead as he stepped into the Forest of Death's enclosed passageway, walking back to the village with his team, "Well, I'm sorry to say, but I'm not entirely sure, I only know what Sasuke will be learning with me. I have other teachers organised for you all." Kakashi said with an eye smile.

"Why?" Hinata asked with a pout.

Naruto chuckled at her, "It's so that whatever we learn over the break is kept a secret just in case we end up fighting each other towards the end." Naruto explained as the ex-hyuuga blushed in embarrassment.

Kakashi couldn't help but chuckle again, "Basically, also, the two people who will be training you both have assistants, one in the form of another gennin and the other will need you to summon your partner for assistance."

Hinata and Naruto looked at each other curiously, "Huh?" Naruto asked after a moment of confusion.

Kakashi eye smiled, "Forget about it, you two have tomorrow off and then the next morning at 9am, be ready for training."

Naruto nodded, "Cool, so... what do you guys think would well against Shikamaru? I've never fought someone like him before."

Hinata smiled at Naruto, "He's always got a plan, so the best thing against him is to make sure that whatever he's planning, it doesn't work."

Kakashi nodded, "I hear from Asuma he's extremely lazy though, so odds are that his physical condition is below average."

Naruto smiled and nodded, "Hmm... fair enough..."

"What about Temari-san? She didn't reveal anything other then that weapon of hers, who uses a fan?" Hinata asked.

"Oddly enough, only very high level Sand Ninjas usually are given the opportunity to use War Fans," Kakashi explained, "I've never seen someone below Jonin that used a fan, so that says a lot about her control over wind chakra."

Hinata frowned in thought and nodded, "I wonder if her wind was as fast as her brother's sand..."

##########

"Let me look at you just in case." Tsunade nagged as she literally forced Naruto to stay sitting on the couch.

Naruto pouted as Tsunade's green hands forced him down, he looked over to Hinata for support only for Shizune to be giving her the same treatment on the couch next to him, "Fine Kaa-san..." he mumbled before he remembered something, "Oh! Hey, Kaa-san? Can you help me with a few things during this training break?"

Tsunade smirked, "I already have something in mind for you. And for you too Hinata."

Hinata raised a brow – her headband around her neck since she was safely in her home – as she closed her left eye since Shizune was scanning over her head, "What's for me?" she asked.

Tsunade giggled as Shizune glanced up at Tsubaki, the woman arriving with their drinks, "Right now your Sensei is making a little offer to a... friend of mine," she began with a smirk, "And if all goes right, after I set Naruto up for the week, I'll be able to help you with it."

Naruto frowned again, "So... who am I training with then? Other then you?" he asked curiously.

Tsunade smiled, "You remember my old friend Jiraiya?"

##########

"Lord Hiashi will see you now Kakashi."

Kakashi bowed respectfully to the Hyuuga Branch member, offering a hand as well which made the Branch member pause in surprise, "Thank you for the escort. You should be allowed so much more then this." he said, slipping a small piece of paper to him via handshake.

The two bowed once more before the Hyuuga branch member left the hallway. Kakashi knocked once on the large door.

"Enter, Kakashi."

Kakashi rolled his eye as he entered the room, walking up to Hiashi's desk and eye smiling, "Hello Hiashi. I've come to collect some scrolls so I can teach your daughter about the gentle fist." Kakashi said as he took a seat.

Hiashi paused and raised his head, "Hinata is not my daughter." he said before going back to his paperwork.

"Nevertheless, you will give them to me." Kakashi said, his calm eye-smile still in place.

Hiashi sat tall at that, watching Kakashi for a moment of silence before he put his pen down, the tension in the room growing as he stared at the Jonin that was completely disregarding his opinion, "And why would that be?"

"Because I have a business proposition for you." Kakashi said as he offered a friendly hand shake.

Hiashi scoffed, glancing at Kakashi sceptically before accepting the offered hand, "What could you possibly have that I need Hatake? You are but another Jonin whereas I am the Hyuuga Clan Head. I could have anything you own in a heartbeat."

Kakashi shrugged, "Well for one thing... the position of Hokage can only be given if the Elite Jonin and the council vote on it. The only exception is when the entirety of one of these groups agree or it's overruled in some way. Therefore, if a Hyuuga were to step up... they'd need an Elite Jonin to nominate them or something like that..."

Hiashi smirked at Kakashi's words, "Are you saying you'd be willing to nominate a Clan member to be Kage? I don't think Hiruzen is stepping down any time soon."

"Then how about a personal favour," Kakashi said, his calm eye smile still in place, "I'll give you a black contract."

Hiashi went silent at those words, "A black contract... you'd be willing to kill someone on my behalf no questions asked? All for one useless girl?"

Kakashi chuckled, "Yes, I'll give you a black contract, but only if you accept my bet."

"A wager?" Hiashi asked sceptically, "You could go straight to jail or execution if I use a black contract with your name and yet... you're willing to put that possibility on the line for a simple wager?"

Kakashi nodded as he shrugged, "As we both know, Hinata will be fighting Neji in the finals. If she loses, you have your contract. If she wins, you give us free reign to walk the compound together. Any room she was allowed in before. Deal?"

Hiashi's sceptical smirk instantly turned to a cold frown, "No. I shall not risk the Hyuuga's secrets over a child. Even if that would give sway in a Kage election I hold the Hyuuga above the village." Hiashi said.

Kakashi was silent for a few moments before the calm eye-smile he had held the whole meeting slowly fell, letting Kakashi give Hiashi a cold look, "Fine, if I can't do this the easy way..."

Hiashi's eyes widened at Kakashi's words, "What do you-"

in a blur of movement, Kakashi was behind Hiashi, gripping both of the man's arms behind his back as he put a foot on the crouching man's spine, "One false move and I render you defenceless before I kill you, got it?"

Hiashi stayed stock still as his eyes hardened in anger, his Byakugan activating out of reflex as he grunted, "You can't do this! You'll be killed!" he exclaimed, thinking one of his clansmen would hear him.

Kakashi sighed and pushed Hiashi lower to the ground, "It's no use yelling, you didn't even notice the seals I put around the room? Weak. See, this is what happens when you sit in a chair for a decade and have your slaves raise your kids. I'm going to kill you now... unless you can convince me otherwise."

"Let me go!" Hiashi shouted as his chakra pulsed fiercely, but as it did so, Hiashi felt something odd in his system, "KAI!"

The whole room shuddered as suddenly Kakashi was back in his chair, "Interesting, when I put Hinata under that Genjutsu it showed her true fear – being forced back into the Hyuuga Clan and branded with the Caged Bird Seal – and yet this is your largest fear? A lowly Jonin killing you and getting away with it because you are too weak."

Hiashi stood in rage, "I'll have you arrested for this!"

Kakashi blinked, "For what? Physically I did nothing to you, it's not my fault you put your hand on a Genjutsu seal by accident."

Hiashi's Byakugan instantly scanned his office, noticing that yes, there was a tiny piece of paper on his palm... from when he shook hands with Kakashi at the beginning of their meeting!

Hiashi glared at Kakashi with hatred obvious in his eyes, but Kakashi was still just sitting with an eye smile, "It's interesting that that's your fear, because now I know how easily it would be to take you down... it would be a shame if say... The Naara Clan knew of this weakness."

Hiashi bristled in hatred, knowing that Shikaku Naara always had an eye on him since the moment the Hyuuga faltered, someone needed to become the head clan of the village, and everyone knew that Shikaku could beat Hiashi anyway... if we tried at least, 'The only real reason us Hyuuga have remained on top is our sheer numbers and the simple fact that the Naara just don't give a damn about being number one... Hatake will ruin me with this news.'

"Or maybe next time my team comes across some Kumo ninja..." Kakashi said, bringing Hiashi's focus back on to him, "I'll just let them have Hinata. There goes all of what your clan holds dear." Kakashi calmly threatened while still smiling.

Hiashi gritted his teeth for a moment before the anger seemed to leave him, "...That's what you wanted the whole time, to know my fear..."

Kakashi tilted his head, "Heavens no, you make me sound like some kind of... intelligent Shinobi." Kakashi said with a chuckle, "But if there was some way in which you could keep me quiet... then I might be persuaded to do so."

Hiashi was silent as his hands became fists, 'Damn you Hatake... I'll keep a closer eye on you from now on.' "Fine. One Ninjutsu that the girl should've learned before I kicked her out," Hiashi said as he reached into his draw and lifted out a specific scroll, "But with this bribe... I would like to take you up on that offer of a bet."

Kakashi hesitated in reaching out for the scroll, before resting a hand on it and talking, "Fine, what are the conditions?" he said as he took the scroll, succeeding in his personal mission of getting something for Hinata.

Hiashi was still before he chuckled, "If you're truly so certain that Hinata could actually defeat the Kazekage's daughter, then she will be facing my clan's representative Neji, who I know will beat the Akimichi child easily. If he does win..." Hiashi began as his face turned to a cold expression, looking down his nose at Kakashi, "Then you WILL sign a black contract on my terms."

Hiashi had been expecting Kakashi to back out or waver in some way, but the Jonin's eye smile just returned even cheerier then before, "Cool, that'll make... five black contract for me..." he mumbled to himself, making Hiashi's eyes widen, "Kay, but if Hinata wins... same conditions as before, the two of us can freely roam the Hyuuga Clan compound."

Hiashi frowned, 'That's it? He just wants to be able to walk around? For what purpose?' Hiashi thought seriously before deciding that a black contract with an Elite Jonin was worth more then some child wandering around the compound... besides, with the two of them inside it would be easy for Hiashi to make them 'disappear.'

"So, do we have a deal?" Kakashi asked as he offered his hand in another hand shake.

With Hiashi's Byakugan still active, he knew that there was definitely no Genjutsu seals on Kakashi's palm, so he accepted the offered hand, "Deal. You will be hearing from me after the finals Hatake."

Kakashi nodded, "Good. On another note Sir," Kakashi said, changing from the demanding teacher of Hinata to another of the Hokage's Shinobi, "You really should train up your skills a bit. That Genjutsu was too weak to hold you under for that long and it totally had you. If Jiraiya-sama's spy network is correct..." Kakashi said seriously, "We may need you fight-capable."

Hiashi retracted his hand as he scowled, 'Jiraiya has something? What could it be?' he thought in concern for his clan and the village before he stood, "You should leave now before I make you regret coming here."

Kakashi eye smiled, "Sure thing, thanks for the scroll." Kakashi said as he waved the scroll in the air and left with an over-charged Shunshin.

**POOF**

Hiashi held his breath through the smoke that filled his office, opening the window behind him with a scowl, 'Curse you Hatake... but if I teach Neji a few tricks, then he'll win for certain.' Hiashi thought with a smirk as he saw the gennin training against ten other branch members, 'Yes... that's perfect.'

##########

_Two days later _

##########

Sasuke blurred into existence in a Leaf-shunshin, looking around the training ground to notice that no one was there, "Hn... guess I'm first." he mumbled before adjusting his sunnies. Taking a glance around again, he paused before casually falling onto his back to rest. Chuckling to himself lightly at the slight dust cloud his impact made.

A few minutes later, Naruto and Hinata appeared together in a shunshin, making Sasuke crack open an eye under his shades, "Morning." he said with a surprising smirk.

Naruto grinned, "Morning Sasuke!" he exclaimed excitedly.

Hinata smiled at Sasuke, "Good morning." she said quietly, trying to act calmly so as to not stir up her emotions.

According to Tsunade, the seal she had suppressing her Curse Mark was definitely effecting her emotions. That meant there were a few ways to go about handling it; either tie it to a specific emotion – like Anko had done with her's – or ignore all outward emotions and become a brick wall.

But Hinata was going for the third and – hopefully – best option; to develop the Curse Mark to become one with her so that her 'over emotional state' becomes more of a continuous 'over empathetical state' so that her own emotions were back to normal, but she'd feel like other people's emotions were so strong she could feel them too.

...Like the weird perversity coming from the bushes in the distance.

"Nii-kun? Do you sense anyone?" she asked with a slight frown.

Naruto nodded with a grin on his face, "Oh yeah, I sense exactly who it is. Kind of hard to forget the man that TRIED TO SNEAK INTO BED WITH MY MOTHER!" Naruto shouted as he turned towards the person.

"Bahahaha! Caught again!" Jiraiya of the Sannin said as he stepped into view, "So! How are you three little gennin doing? I hear that your Sensei needs help with the three of you?" he asked with a grin.

Sasuke stood up quickly, bowing politely to Jiraiya, "If that means you'd be willing to teach me a high level fire jutsu then yes." he said with a slight smirk.

**POOF**

**POOF**

"Actually," Kakashi said as he and Tsunade appeared at the training field, "I've set up some training for the three of you. I have given Tsunade a scroll that she'll be helping Hinata learn, Jiraiya will be testing the limits of Naruto's chakra control and I will be teaching you a very specific new skill Sasuke, one that'll act like a bug-zapper against Shino and in theory, should be able to nullify Shikamaru's Shadows and pierce Gaara's defence."

Tsunade stepped forward first, smiling at her son before holding the scroll Hiashi had given up in front of her, making Hinata's eyes widen, "I-is that-?!"

"Yep!" Tsunade said with a smirk, "And since I know all of the theory already I'm going to help you learn it." she said before walking past Hinata, "Put your headband on and follow me, we're going somewhere special to train."

Hinata nodded as she put her headband over her eyes, simultaneously activating her Byakugan as she did so, "Coming!" Hinata shouted before running off.

Naruto watched her run off before feeling a hand clasp his shoulder, looking up, he smirked as he saw Jiraiya, "C'mon kid, I know a great training field just near here." he said as he formed his chakra to perform a Shunshin, bringing Naruto along with him.

**POOF**

Sasuke turned to Kakashi and smirked, "So, are we training here then?"

Kakashi eye smiled and shook his head, "No, we're going training at my favourite mountain. The first part of your training is functioning one handed, so... we're going to tie a hand behind our backs and then climb with no chakra up a cliff."

Sasuke was silent as he processed before shaking his head as Kakashi grabbed his shoulder, "Hold on Sensei, how about-"

**POOF**

##########

Naruto opened his Uzugan eyes as he took in the clearing before turning to Jiraiya, "Nice spot, so, what did Sensei mean when he said you'd be pushing the limits of my chakra?" Naruto asked.

Jiraiya smirked as he held out a hand palm up, "By seeing if you can learn the highest level of chakra control technique, utilizing pure Shape Manipulation of chakra," Jiraiya said as multiple chakra strings swirled around his hand and formed a glowing and spiraling ball, "This! Is the Rasengan!"

Naruto's eyes swirled as he watched the chakra dance, "Amazing..." he said, completely awestruck at the jutsu.

But thanks to his eyes, he also understood the base idea, now all it took was to learn it.

##########

"Eight Trigrams: Eight Gates Assault?" Hinata asked with a slight pout, "I haven't heard of this one..."

Tsunade shrugged, leaning against the wall of the Senju training room, "Well, what about the other one?"

Hinata rolled the scroll out further before her eyes widened, "The Eight Trigrams Sky Palm?!" she exclaimed with a grin.

Tsunade chuckled, 'Looks good to me, but the moment I have her finish these I have to get her started on something unique... maybe something from her mammoths?'

##########

"Shit, you weren't kidding." Sasuke said with a frown as he looked up the large pillar of stone.

Kakashi chuckled, "No I wasn't, now come on," Kakashi said as he moved over to the larger of the two pre-prepared rocks that had ninja wire wrapped around it, "Tie yourself in and then I'll bind your hand behind your back. Once you can climb this in under ten minutes then we'll move on to the next step."

##########

_Four weeks later, two days before the Chunnin Exam Finals_

##########

"RASENGAN!" Naruto exclaimed as he slammed the jutsu through a tree with no effort and a grin on his face.

Jiraiya shook his head in disbelief, 'Incredible, with Tsunade's chakra control it only took Naruto a week to master the Rasengan... now look at the heights he's taken it to!' Jiraiya thought with a grin as he watched Naruto hold the Rasengan in his right hand.

Naruto nodded before lifting up his left hand, creating a second Rasengan in his palm before he held closed his eyes and focussed before tossing them up into the air.

Jiraiya shook his head in amazement as Naruto made a third and fourth Rasengan and began juggling them, "Great work brat! Now how about that jutsu you learned from your Summon partners?" Jiraiya asked.

Naruto nodded and ran into the bushes, darting about fifty meters away before he began to run up one of the taller trees. Coming to the top, he leapt up while forming hand seals, "PEGASUS ART: WIND RIDER!" Naruto shouted as he began to glide through the air back towards Jiraiya.

The Wind Rider worked by making a pair of faux wings between Naruto's arms and legs, letting him glide as if in a wing-suit. The more shocking part of the technique as that Naruto can set the 'wings' into a position before moving freely between them, letting him form Ninjutsu in his free hands and even ninja tools if necessary.

Naruto grinned as he circled the clearing once before he dropped the technique, letting him fall through the air and slide to a stop back in front of the smiling Sannin, "How'd ya like that!" Naruto shouted in excitement.

Jiraiya nodded at Naruto, "Awesome brat! Now, you remember the last part of all of this training?" he asked as he glanced over Naruto's shoulder.

Naruto turned away from Jiraiya, facing his gennin training partner as the person got back to her feet, "You ready for one last round?" the person said as they got into a fighter's stance.

Naruto took his own stance as he patted the seal inside his back pocket, making a large familiar scroll appear on the small of Naruto's back, tied into place just like Jiraiya's Toad Summoning Scroll was, "Bring it!" he exclaimed before dashing forward.

##########

"SKY PALM!" Hinata shouted as she stepped forward with a two-palmed thrust.

Tsunade nodded as she saw the two palm shaped indents form against the training dummy, "Alrighty," she said as she made a single Shadow Clone for Hinata to target, "If you're able to do this right then you should shut down it's chakra network before it can dispel, meaning I won't get any chakra memories back from it. Go!" Tsunade said as she closed her eyes.

"EIGHT TRIGRAMS: EIGHT GATES ASSAULT!"

Tsunade kept her eyes closed as she heard her clone pop, making her smirk as she received nothing back from it, "Perfect Hinata! Now, time to practice the skill your Mammoths gave you. Ready?" she asked as she moved over to the empty front-half of the training room and pressed her hand against the third seal on the wall.

POOF

A training course filled the empty half of the room, making Hinata frown, "But Tsunade-sama, this one is different from the other courses..." Hinata said worriedly.

Tsunade nodded, "You're going to need to adapt here Hinata-chan, now give it a go!" she ordered.

Hinata ran around to the start of the short training course, seeing with her eyes the kunai and shuriken traps above and below as well as the swinging logs and numerous other obstacles coming from above, below and from her left. But just before she hopped to it, she formed four hand seals and ended on the Boar Seal, "MAMMOTH ART: RUBBER EXTENSION!" she exclaimed before lifting both arms back over her head.

As she threw her arms forward, they extended as if made of rubber, her left hand gripping a pole on the other side of the first obstacle – a fire pit – and flinging herself forward as that arm returned to normal and her other arm shot out, grabbing onto a handle on the floor that she pulled herself down towards to avoid the swinging log. She performed a cartwheel as numerous shuriken began to fly towards her from the side, her arms extending as she was upside-down to dodge the rest of them before she leapt into the next area and paused at what she saw.

The high pressure hose blasted a torrent of water at her face, making her dodge by leaning backwards to let the water move over her before two training dummies in the shape of performing an aerial kick were launched at her from two seals corresponding to the hose's position. Hinata used a Sky Palm to blast the closer one away before her other arm extended out to grab the hose nozzle and redirect it to blast away the second training dummy.

Hinata dropped the hose and leapt up as the water became slightly electrified – not enough to kill anyone, just to render them unconscious – before looking ahead and seeing the floor where she was about to land open up over a kunai trap, "SHADOW CLONE JUTSU!" Hinata shouted.

The single clone appeared under her feet before she jumped off of it to clear the kunai trap, looking up as suddenly kunai began to rain down on her too. She quickly pulled up her sleeve and placed her hand on the storage seal on her wristband.

POOF

Hinata spun her Naginata overhead, deflecting all of the kunai that came close as she darted towards the spinning blade walls – the last part of the course – and holding the weapon to her side as she weaved between them all, only having to use her weapon to redirect one of the blade walls before she stepped out the other side.

Hinata paused and sighed with a calm smirk as she sealed her naginata away and turned to Tsunade, "I'm ready Sensei!"

##########

Kakashi blinked in amazement at what he was seeing, 'Woah, I guess he's got better control then I thought.'

Sasuke stood holding a Chidori in his golden tiger gauntlet's grip, the lightning glowing brightly before the eyes on his gauntlet glowed red, sending fire into the Ninjutsu that made it's glow even brighter and more dangerously.

Sasuke raised his head with a smirk, his Sharingan glowing behind his sunglasses, "Piece of cake." Sasuke commented as he ran forward and thrust his attack into the boulder on the opposite of the stone pillar, "CHIDORI FLAME!"

BOOOM

Sasuke smirked as he felt a chakra fluctuation behind him. Turning around, Sasuke spotted a Kakashi clone looking at him. So Sasuke casually reached up and lowered his shades on his nose as his Sharingan span, 'GENJUTSU: SHARINGAN!' Sasuke thought as he made the clone's perspective lag behind a full second.

Sasuke ran forward as he fell onto all four for a moment, the eyes on his two gauntlets glowing before he shot forward at high speed, appearing behind Kakashi's clone with his claws crossed, "DASHING TIGER!" Sasuke exclaimed as the clone suddenly had massive gouges in it's chest before it dispelled.

Kakashi eye smiled at Sasuke as the boy turned to him, "I'd be willing to say that you're ready for these exams."

##########

Naruto walked through Konoha with a grin on his face, having just taken his 'secret training partner' out to lunch as a thanks for her help over the past month, 'With all the skills I've learned over the past month I reckon I'm ready for Chunnin... but I guess I should keep some of my new skills secret just in case, ya never know when you might need an upper hand... what should I hide though?' Naruto pondered as he moved past the shopping district.

"Ah!"

Naruto glanced behind him before his eyes widened, seeing one of the supports on some scaffolding had come out, leaving three people atop it to fall nearly a full story. Naruto blurred towards the closest one in a shunshin to catch her as he noticed two other blurs move in his peripherals.

Hinata's elongated arm reached out to catch the youngest of the three that had fallen, her feet sticking her to the wall above the scaffolding to do so.

Sasuke calmly caught the one women of the trio bridal style, smirking at the blush on her face as he tilted his head forward to look at her over his shades, "You alright sweetheart?" he asked with a wink. The girl fainted, making Sasuke chuckle as he set her down, glancing up at Naruto and Hinata as they approached him, "How's it going?" he asked as he moved his glasses back into place using the heel of his hand.

Hinata cheerily answered first, "Pretty good Sasuke-kun! I've been practicing my Summon Clan's extension techniques! Gotta be ready for these exams of course!"

Naruto smiled at her response and Sasuke's expectant look, "Sorry guys, not cluing you in on my training. After all I might have to fight one of you guys during the exams... feeling pretty confident though." he said with a grin.

Hinata and Sasuke frowned at him just before a pair of ANBU appeared behind them, "Team 7, did you see what happened here?" he asked with a gesture towards the tilted and obviously unusable scaffolding.

Naruto shook his head, "Just the yelling, I helped the younger man from splitting his skull on the pavement."

Hinata blushed, "I only just got there in time really..." she mumbled, not wanting to say she'd been looking for her Naruto.

Sasuke sighed, "I saw the whole thing, even got a play-by-play thanks to my Sharingan." he said, earning a nod from the ANBU.

"Sasuke Uchiha, please come with us to relay the events." the second ANBU requested.

Sasuke sighed before nodding, "Sure," he said before glancing over his shoulder, "Catch you later?"

"Dinner at Springtime Valley Restaurant," Naruto said with a grin, "My shout, how's... 6?" he asked his team.

Sasuke gave a thumbs up as Hinata nodded, "Til then." Sasuke said before the two ANBU lead him over to the shop.

Naruto turned to Hinata with a smile, "So Hinata-chan, wanna hang out?" he asked as he stepped by her side and offered her his arm.

Hinata tried to suppress her blush as she took his arm, "S-sure thing Nii-kun." she said as she stuttered lightly, causing her blush to increase.

Naruto raised a brow as he observed her behaviour, only for realisation to dawn on his face before he began leading her forward, letting his mind wander at the implications.

Hinata smiled happily as she rested her head on Naruto's shoulder, the two of them walking in a comfortable silence for nearly an hour before they got to a playground. Other then one parent and child who were on the swing set on the opposite side of the playground, it was basically empty. As they came across a bench just off of the main pathway, Naruto paused, "Wanna hang here for a while? It's nice and peaceful." Naruto said with a warm smile directed down at Hinata.

Hinata met his gaze and nodded, sitting down on the bench herself first before she patted the spot next to her, though to her surprise, as he sat down he pulled her across so that she was once more resting against his side.

Hinata blushed lightly at the contact before snuggling closer to him, 'Nii-kun is... so warm.' she thought happily as she sighed in content.

Naruto glanced down at Hinata before he glanced around, seeing they were alone, he decided to ask her directly about a theory that he had come up with, "Hey Hinata-chan? Do you know much about make up?"

Hinata blinked at the odd question before nodding, "Sure, I'm not much for it myself but sometimes I use it. All Kunoichi have learned the basics though... why?" she asked in return.

Naruto shrugged slightly, "Well I noticed that a lot of the lip balm stuff that girls use have all these different flavours... I was wondering why they need flavours if it's just for aesthetics."

Hinata smiled at Naruto's inability to comprehend such a simple thing, "Because lip balm goes on our lips Nii-kun. No one would want something on their lips that taste bad otherwise they'd taste it all the time."

Naruto nodded, unable to hide a slight smirk as he almost had her, "So all those yellow and brown ones you have are the same flavour?" he theorised, earning a nod, "Pineapple right?"

Hinata giggled slightly at him, "Yes Nii-kun, why does that matter?" she asked, not realising where he was heading with this.

Naruto's smirk grew, "So... when we were in the Land of Waves, no one else there had access to food and necessities let alone lip balm of any kind. Meaning you were the only one near me that could've had it on their lips..."

Hinata's eyes widened as her mind went back to the moment she had accidentally kissed Naruto, making her face flush red as she stayed dead silent.

Naruto chuckled lightly as he rubbed her back, letting her know he understood what had happened, "It's alright Hinata-chan. But if you're gonna kiss me, next time make sure I'm awake for it cause if I'm asleep and someone caught you, well, that's technically sexual assault." he said factually, glancing at her out of the corner of his eyes to watch her reaction.

Hinata's blush just got redder and redder as she tensed. She glanced up at Naruto only to divert her gaze as she noticed him staring back, "Y-you mean... you want me to kiss you again?" she asked in a whisper.

Naruto held back his chuckle as he was curious what was going through her head, "I'm not sure, I know that I want you to be happy and I think we both know it would make me happy. The only problem I think might arise is Sasuke's view on-"

Naruto's over-thought soliloquy was abruptly cut off as Hinata turned to him and kissed him full on the lips, though before he could return it, she had pulled away and gone back to her original position hiding her face from him. He smiled down at her silently, waiting for her to finally glance up at him again.

Hinata's blush slowly faded as she realised Naruto wasn't upset or angry about what she had done. So after a few silent minutes, she timidly raised her gaze to him, letting him bring a hand up and cup her jaw, turning her face towards his gently before he pressed his lips to hers.

Hinata's eyes fluttered shut at the contact, the two of them holding each other peacefully for a few minutes as they shared their first real kiss together.

The sound of crying made the two pause before glancing over to the mother and son on the other side of the playground. The boy had merely tripped and scraped his knee, but he was crying as if the pain was the worst thing imaginable.

Naruto and Hinata looked back at each other, the young boy smiling as the girl blushed heavily, "S-sorry for cutting you off..." Hinata began, doing her best to not stutter, "It's just, one of the things I like most about you is that you're always so considerate of everyone, and even though we both wanted this... you still were worried about Sasuke's feelings." Hinata confessed before lowering her head, starting to think about Sasuke herself and realising what problems this might cause for the three of them as a team.

Naruto shrugged, "Hinata-chan, Sasuke is a strong young man with literally a hundred or so girls throwing them at him. Add the fact that he's kinda shallow and his new 'hobby' I don't think your past relationship with him is taking up much of his time any more." he said as he rubbed her back again to try and comfort her.

Hinata smiled at his actions before she thought over his words, "I know most of that, but what's his new hobby? I haven't seen him for nearly a month now so who knows what it could be."

Naruto shook his head, "Ever since he found out the small amount of medical chakra running through his system thanks to the techniques I taught him automatically combat toxins and such in his body as well as minor damage. He's picked up something that I honestly thought was a Sarutobi Clan exclusive..."

##########

"...So after I caught her she passed out and then my team and I caught up for a moment before your ANBU asked me to come and report the incident since there had been property damage." Sasuke finished before nodding to the Hokage.

Hiruzen shrugged as he finished writing some notes on what Sasuke had said, "Well, I guess it was a good thing you three were around when you were," Hiruzen said before a small dinging sound came from an alarm clock on the corner of his desk, "Ah good, break time." he said as he leaned back.

Sasuke raised a brow as the Hokage took out some things from his desk draw, one of which was his specially packed smoking pipe – packed with the familiar but questionable green 'tobacco' he always smoked – and a small bowl with more green in it, "You smoke too Hokage-sama?" Sasuke asked as he lowered his shades.

Hiruzen glanced up at Sasuke, seeing his eyes behind the glasses and the redness of the Sharingan along with the red tinge to the rest of his somewhat glassy looking eyes. Hiruzen chuckled as he lit hit pipe and slid the bowl across to Sasuke, "That I do, I had no idea you did as well Sasuke-kun. Help yourself."

Sasuke reached into his ninja pouch, taking out some papers as he began to roll himself a joint. Barely glancing up as one of the Hokage's ANBU as the man stepped out of the shadows, "Umm, Hokage-sama, should you really be giving that to Sasuke here? He's a bit young..."

Hiruzen looked at Sasuke only for the Uchiha to speak, "Been doing it for a couple of months now ANBU-san, bit late to tell me I'm too young for a little weed."

The Hokage chuckled at that before glancing down at his smoking draw again, seeing his old smoking kit along with the three jutsu his clan had devised to work with smoking, "You know what Sasuke-kun? When I was younger I passed on what I could to my sons, but one of them has passed in the last war, so some of his things came back to my possession," Hiruzen said as he took out a small wooden rectangular box about the size of a sheet of paper, "How would you like to learn about Ash-jutsu?"

##########

_Day of the finals_

###########

Naruto stood in front of his mirror, pulling his Senju Jacket into place on his shoulders before he strapped the newly re-furbished Senju Armory Scroll to his lower back. He tightened his headband around his pants as a belt and took a deep breath.

Naruto's Uzugan swirled as he smirked at his own reflection, "Finally... it's here."

#########

Chapter End.

Sorry for the massive delay, so much for quick updates haha.

Anyways, for those of you who actually read these A/N just a heads up; I'll be mostly focussing on one story at a time other then my own original stories since – such a shocker – I'm trying to become a writer by my own right rather then fanfiction.

Hope you continue to read my stories :) please R&amp;R so that I know what ya'll are thinking.


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter Twenty: The Chunnin Exam Finals  
Round 1: Matches 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5

"Welcome everyone!" the Third Hokage's voice bellowed throughout the Chunnin exam arena, earning a massive round of applause, "Today we get the privilege of seeing ten Chunnin hopefuls fight for their rank, their country and their very lives! Today! We see the best that Sunagakure, Otogakure and Konohagakure have at their disposal! So please! Sit back, relax, and enjoy the festivities!"

The Kazekage chuckled as the Hokage stepped back to sit down, the whole crowd erupting into cheers at his short speech, "It doesn't take much to excite this bunch does it?" he asked as he took off his mask to clean his teeth before putting the cloth back in place.

The Hokage sat down with a grunt at his old bones, "I'd say so, this is a rather rare occasion. In Konoha it has been almost a decade since Shinobi from other villages have made it to the finals. I'm sure they're all very excited," Hiruzen said before leaning forward slightly, looking past the Kazekage to look at the third chair, "What do you think Otokage-dono?" he asked respectfully.

The hooded Kage shrugged, seemingly bored with the events going on in front of him as he kept his whole face hidden other then his pale mouth and chin, "My village is still growing, to be honest I thought this would be a nice way to open communication with the other villages, I didn't think I'd actually have to leave for weeks on end." he mumbled.

Hiruzen blinked awkwardly before sharing a look with the Kazekage who just shrugged, 'Well, guess that's one way to look at it.' he thought before sighing.

Hearing Genma's voice begin to rise over the crowd's cheering, Hiruzen sat forward to listen to the beginning of the exams...

##########

"Today we will have 3 rounds with a total of 8 matches!" Genma announced, making the crowd begin to quieten down, "First match of the first round will be Choji Akimichi of the Leaf! Heir to the great Akimichi Clan!" Genma shouted as Choji stepped forward from the line of ten candidates with a proud smile on his face.

"And his opponent will be Neji Hyuuga of the Leaf! Nephew of the current Clan Head of the Hyuuga and prodigy of the Branch Family!" Genma said as Neji stepped forward from the line with a confident smirk.

As Choji and Neji walked forward to the middle of the arena, the others were all sent to the private waiting area in silence, the tension palpable to those just waiting for their own fight.

"Okay you two," Genma said softly, "This fight has the same rules as the preliminaries. If I call it, it's over. And remember this is to show that you're ready to become Chunnin. Ready?"

Neji nodded as Choji bowed, "Hai Genma-san!" Choji exclaimed before taking a battle stance.

Genma smirked at the chubby boy before turning his gaze to Neji, the boy merely taking his own stance calmly, "Alright then... Round 1 match 1! Choji versus Neji! BEGIN!"

Choji immediately lowered his stance, punching his fist into the ground and surprising many by pulling out a large bat made of rock, "EARTH STYLE: EARTH MOULD WEAPONRY!" Choji shouted as he rested the bat on one shoulder and slammed his other hand into the ground, bringing out an axe made of rock before he took a stance, "Bring it Neji! I'm ready!" Choji exclaimed.

Neji's smirk faded as he saw Choji's weapons, 'I assumed that he'd stick to his normal Expansion Taijutsu Style. That would've given me direct access to hit his chakra network... but with those weapons in the way I might be harder pressed then I thought.'

Choji ran forward a few steps before his leg suddenly expanded, letting his next step throw him through the air towards Neji as he swung down with his axe.

**BOOOOM**

A dust cloud kicked up in the arena, slowly fading to show Neji was standing on top of the earthen axe looking down at Choji, "Is that it?" Neji asked.

Choji grunted as he swung his bat, forcing Neji to leap up in a dodge before Choji threw a kick at Neji, his leg expanding once more to close the distance.

The attack caught Neji by surprise with it's speed, forcing him to block but still be flung away. Neji landed in a slide, raising his eyes to glare at Choji, 'He's more of a threat then I thought... no holding back then.' Neji thought as he closed his eyes for a moment and took his own Taijutsu stance, "BYAKUGAN!"

Choji and Neji charged at each other in their respective stances, Neji weaving between the larger boy's weapons as he tried to land a counter, only managing to achieve glancing blows to the weapons themselves and a few jabs to Choji's forearms.

##########

Naruto's Uzugan swirled as he watched the fight below, 'Incredible, just when I thought Choji had the upper hand... Neji's chakra control is probably as good as mine.' Naruto thought as he picked up on the intricacies of Neji's style.

Neji was doing his best to dodge, but when he was able to parry, he was poking Choji's weapons or the boy's arms. Closing tenketsu in his body while weakening his weapons. Just as Choji swiped for his head again, Neji flipped backwards through the air to dodge and separate from Choji.

Naruto smirked, "It's over."

##########

Choji smirked as Neji ran at him, "It's over!" Choji shouted as he flung the axe at Neji.

Neji landed in a wide stance from his next step, moving his arms around his body before putting the momentum into his attacking palm right at the point of the axe as it hit his hand.

**BOOM**

Choji's eyes widened as Neji burst forth from the resulting dust cloud making the boy hold up his club in defence as Neji's fingers shot forth and jabbed the club in three places before he leapt up and kicked it into Choji's face.

"Ah!" Choji shouted in pain as his own club broke and was slammed into his face, knocking him to the ground as he bled.

Neji took his beginning stance again, "You should give it up now Choji-san. This fight is over."

Choji got to his feet and formed a hand seal, gritting his teeth through the pain, "No way! PARTIAL EXPANSION JUTSU!" he shouted as he built up his chakra.

Neji ran forward instantly, watching as Choji's jutsu began to form and the boy's arm begin to expand, only to stop as the process reached his forearm, "Fool!" Neji declared as he jabbed up and down Choji's mis-matched arms before slamming the heel of his palm onto Choji's stomach, the resulting burst of chakra throwing Choji back like a rag doll before he came to a stop against one of the trees.

Genma landed next to Choji, seeing that he was unconscious, "Medic Team!" he declared before walking over to Neji and grabbing his hand, "Winner! Neji Hyuuga!"

##########

"Nii-kun..."

Naruto turned at the sound of Hinata's voice, smiling proudly at her before he glanced at her soon-to-be opponent; Temari of the Sand, "Don't worry Hinata-chan, you've got this easy." Naruto said with a grin of encouragement.

Hinata smiled and nodded, her headband over her eyes as her Byakugan let her see Temari's cocky glare at the back of Hinata's head, "I'm not sure about easy... but I can do this," she said before focussing on Naruto again, "I was actually hoping... can I have a hug for confidence?" she asked with a grin.

Naruto laughed and opened his arms, letting her run to him and share a hug, causing the other examiners to mostly look away except for Shino who casually took out a camera and snapped a photo.

Hinata blushed before scowling at Shino and letting go of Naruto, she spotted Temari flying down to the arena on her fan before nodding at Naruto, "Bye." she said before turning to leap off after her.

"Don't hold back," Naruto said with a smile, "I can heal the damage you can inflict so don't feel guilty about going for kill shots."

Hinata was still for a moment before her 'Hyuuga façade' slipped over her face, making her seem perfectly emotionless as she nodded. Hinata formed a hand seal and disappeared in a shunshin.

**POOF**

##########

**POOF**

Hinata seemed calm as she appeared next to Genma, watching Temari land in front of her, "Hinata of the Leaf! The Blind Bandit of the Hidden Leaf Village!" Genma said with a smirk as Hinata glanced at him, not portraying any emotion even though it was the first time she had heard the nickname, "And Temari of the Sand! The daughter of the Fourth Kazekage!"

###########

The Fourth Kazekage smirked and looked over to the Hokage, "You confident in this young girl? I doubt she's really blind." he said with a chuckle.

The Hokage kept his face blank, "You know, I've never questioned it, but I'm not sure if I've seen her eyes since she was kicked out of the Hyuuga clan... they could've taken her eyes..." he mumbled, knowing full well that she still had her eyes.

The Kazekage's brow furrowed as he looked down at Hinata, 'I hope she doesn't hurt my girl.'

###########

"BEGIN!"

Hinata instantly threw some senbon at Temari before forming some hand seals, forcing the wind user to use her fan's abilities to put them off course so that she could finish her hand seals, "HIDDEN MIST JUTSU!" Hinata shouted before taking a deep breath and blowing out a massive plume of mist.

Temari looked up as the mist enveloped her, not seeing Hinata form a few high speed hand seals and leave in a shunshin while she left a Shadow Clone in her place. The Shadow Clone leapt back to the wall before taking out handfuls of senbon.

Temari finally gained her bearings and made a gust of wind the formed a gust around her that blew away the mist as she glared at the hazy image of the 'Hinata' in the distance, "That won't work on me! WIND SCYTHE JUTSU!" Temari exclaimed before opening her fan the rest of the way and blowing a gust of wind at Hinata.

'Hinata' smirked and dodged at high speed as she launched senbon at Temari, who had to stop launching her wind attacks to blow away the senbon.

Meanwhile, the real Hinata stepped out from the trees behind Temari and formed a set of one handed seals, "SECRET JUTSU: WATER NEEDLES!" she mumbled as she used the remaining mist to make a large amount of needles form in the air above Temari.

Temari continued to attack and miss the clone for nearly a minute before she noticed something odd; a shadow seemed to be looming over her suddenly, and there were no clouds in the sky. She looked directly up, her eyes widening as she saw what had just finished forming.

Temari swung her fan above her, launching wind blades as the water needles shot down towards her. Hinata and the clone both sent chakra to their feet and shot forward at the high speeds that can be achieved with higher levels of chakra control.

Temari began to panic as she sped up her wind to keep up with the oncoming storm of water needles, but suddenly, she felt herself freeze as the water needles lost form and just fell as water over her. She barely registered two copies of the same voice shouting in unison.

""EIGHT TRIGRAMS: SYNCHRONISED ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY EIGHT PALMS!"" Hinata and her clone exclaimed as they systematically shut down Temari's body.

Just as they finished and Temari lost her ability to lose chakra for the day, the large volume of water fell over Temari as Hinata's clone formed hand seals so that Hinata would not lose any more chakra, "WATER STYLE: WATER PRISON!" the clone exclaimed before trapping Temari.

Hinata stepped forward to face the Hokage before bowing as Genma jogged next to Temari and the clone, seeing that the Wind user was on the verge of passing out from holding her breath, "Winner! Hinata!"

Hinata's clone – and subsequently the Water Prison – lost form and dispelled and the soaking wet Temari fell to her knees on the ground and gasped for air.

The crowd burst into cheers at the Leaf ninja's victory, but after Hinata's bow towards the Kages and then the proctor, she grinned up at Naruto and Sasuke as the Uchiha stepped up next to him, "I did it!" she exclaimed before running out of he arena and up to the viewing area.

##########

The Hokage smirked, "Well, looks like she can do Hyuuga Ninjutsu AND some amazing water style jutsu. Incredible..."

The Kazekage was scowling as he looked at a medic team taking his daughter away, 'Temari... dammit.' he thought before glancing across at the Otokage.

The main physically sat unchanged, showing almost no reaction, but the man's pointer finger twitched, making the Kazekage flinch. After a few more tense seconds, the Kazekage righted himself as he took a deep breath, 'Don't screw this up Kankuro, Gaara...'

##########

"Next match!" Genma began as Gaara and Dosu took positions facing each other, "Gaara of the Sand! Youngest child of the Fourth Kazekage!" he began, earning a cheer from the group of Sand ninjas that had come to watch, "Against the Strongest Sound Shinobi of the exams! Dosu Kinuta!"

Dosu glanced up in surprise at the cheers that met the announcement of his name. He smirked as he turned to face Gaara, 'Otokage-sama told me not to kill my opponent... I guess there's only a few options for me to go with.'

Gaara was seemingly calm before his gripped his head as if in pain. Dosu's eye narrowed at Gaara before the crazed red-head looked up to meet the stare, "Mother wants your blood!" Gaara screamed as his gourd popped open, the cork shooting off so fast that it lodged into the wall over twenty meters away.

Dosu gulped as he glanced at the cork, '….Okay, that would've hurt.' Dosu thought as he took a defensive stance.

"Third Match! BEGIN!"

###########

Naruto's Uzugan span as he watched the match, his eyes darting between the two opponents, 'If I manage to get past Shikamaru then I'll be up against one of these two...' he thought seriously as he focussed completely on what was occurring in front of him.

###########

Gaara's sand rushed towards Dosu, making the Sound ninja flip away in a rather lazy but effective dodge. Dosu gripped his gauntlet and pushed chakra into it as he fell back through the air to land on his feet, he glanced up as the sand continued towards him as his arm seemed to vibrate at high speed, "SONIC PULSE!" Dosu exclaimed.

**BOOM**

Gaara's lips turned down in a slight frown as Dosu's gauntlet let out a pulse of soundwaves strong enough to push all of the sand away from him.

Dosu turned his vibrating arm forward before he used his free hand to reach up and rip the straw-covered piece of clothing from his back and tossing it aside...

**BOOM**

...making it form a crater the size of a small cart due to it's weight.

Dosu stood tall for the first time in nearly four years, he took a deep breath before pulling up his other sleeve, revealing a second gauntlet as Gaara's sand flowed towards him again.

Gaara's eyes widened a minuscule fraction as Dosu blurred away in a burst of speed. Gaara turned as his sand blocked a punch that was almost too fast for Gaara to see, 'Another speedster?' Gaara thought before looking in front of him.

Dosu had punched forward but held the attack, letting the sand coalesce around his outstretched arm before his gauntlet began to vibrate again, making the sand burst off of it so that he could land a solid punch to Gaara's face.

##########

The Otokage's brows rose as he watched Dosu fight, 'I didn't know he'd made this much progress... he's using skills from himself and both of his team-mates; the subtle Genjutsu from the sound he's releasing makes Gaara think he's hitting harder then he really is – just like Kin could – the sound waves he's using is causing vibration – though unlike Zaku, he's using it to combat the sand rather then make airwaves – and finally, using vibration itself from the gauntlets to enhance his body's movements... maybe I should give him a present after these exams.'

The Kazekage stared with wide eyes as his son was actually hit, 'Impossible! Even my ANBU couldn't get that close!' he thought.

The Hokage calmly glanced between the two Kage on either side of him, 'Well... these two are certainly finding this intense... and those two kids sure know how to fight.' Hiruzen thought with a smile, glad to be able to witness the skills of the next generation.

###########

Gaara gasped before Dosu's speedy fist hit his face, throwing him back with a crack forming across his Sand Armour from the impact only for his sand to catch him. Gaara pushed his palm towards Dosu, "SAND COFFIN!"

Dosu looked around as the sand began to stream towards him. Dosu clapped his gauntlets together just as it began to warp around him, "NINJA ART: SOUND WAVE AFTERIMAGE!"

Gaara began to grin slightly as his sand wrapped around... nothing?

Dosu appeared and disappeared rhythmically as a low vibrating pitch began to come from his gauntlets. Gaara flung his sand around to hit the blurring images of Dosu, but each time the sand hit him, the after image would simply fade away before suddenly, Gaara ducked.

Dosu's after images faded as the real Dosu appeared behind Gaara, using his gauntlets to burst through the sand shield behind Gaara to throw a punch at him that missed.

Gaara turned as he flung his hand upwards, trying to wrap his sand around Dosu's legs and this time, managing to grip him.

Dosu gasped as Gaara's sand flung him back into the wall, causing a crack to form from the impact as Gaara clapped his hands together, "SAND TSUNAMI!"

Dosu raised his head, his eyes widening as he barely managed to get out of the wall before all of Gaara's sand fell down on him.

Gaara calmly walked onto the large pile of sand that had buried Dosu. Gaara knelt on the sand, "SAND BURI-"

"SOUND WAVE BURST!"

**BOOOOM**

Gaara and his sand was flung back as Dosu burst from the sand, his left arm bleeding heavily as he had sacrificed his left gauntlet to make a burst big enough to get him out. Dosu panted heavily as he immediately darted towards Gaara again, 'Only a few seconds!' Dosu thought as he blurred forward.

Gaara lifted his arm, his eyes widening as his sand didn't respond, 'What? I don't understand! What's happening?!' he thought in panic as he watched the Sand Armour begin to fall from his skin.

Dosu grinned as his second gauntlet continued to vibrate at a higher speed then even before, causing mass vibration of the air between the sand to separate the individual pieces and thus Gaara's ability to crush him and – hopefully – his Sand Armour as well.

Since one arm was busy and the left arm damaged from the wrist down, Dosu leaped forward between the only tendrils of sand that got close to him while driving his left elbow ahead of him. Gaara looked up in obvious fear as the sand fell from his body.

People stared as Dosu's elbow slammed into Gaara's nose, spraying blood from the boy's face as he stumbled backwards. Dosu didn't let up, flinging his limp wrist in a backhand to spin Gaara away from him before his vibrating gauntlet cracked from the over exertion of chakra running through it.

Dosu gasped in pain, hesitating for a moment before the gauntlet exploded, covering his arm in shrapnel and surprisingly, launching many pieces of the metal into Gaara's back and spine.

Dosu leaped away as he held his arm in pain, 'That's both wrists broken, but if I'm lucky that was enough to do something.' Dosu thought as he glared at the dust cloud.

"BLOOD?!" Gaara's voice rang out as the dust and sand cloud began to coalesce around the middle of the arena, "I'LL KILL YOU! MOTHER WANTS REVENGE!"

Dosu sighed, 'Great, he's lost it.' Dosu thought as he knelt, pressing a mostly limp hand against a storage seal on his calf.

**POOF**

Dosu grinned as he picked up the hand bell between his teeth, 'This is all I got left, I hope it's enough.' Dosu thought as he ran forward.

Suddenly, an arrow of sand shot from the sand cloud, making Dosu ring his bell and suddenly, he was two meters to the right, successfully dodging the first arrow before twenty more shot at him. His bell rang and he managed to dodge most of them, though as more and more began to fire from the cloud, he got hit.

The arrows got his arms first – since he used them to cover his vitals – before one got his thigh and another almost spearing him through the face if he hadn't used his headband to deflect it slightly to the side, cutting open the side of his head as he shouted in pain.

The sand closed condensed, showing around sphere that had what appeared to be an eye above it.

##########

The Kazekage tensed as he saw the sphere, "Not yet..." he mumbled in worry as he sat forward, secretly adjusting his belt.

The Otokage sighed as he sat back, saying nothing but seemingly losing interest in the battle before him.

Hiruzen once more glanced between the two Kages and smiled softly, 'Looks like the Sand Ninja will win this... it's a shame, that Dosu boy definitely showed enough to be Chunnin, the wide variety of Genjutsu, Ninjutsu and Taijutsu techniques he knows shows the knowledge of having balance and intelligence. Not to mention the amazing counter to Gaara's sand he thought of... though I guess Gaara's sand makes him able to adapt to basically anything... it's just his mentality that's holding him back from becoming a Chunnin.'

##########

Dosu panted heavily as blood came down his face. He lifted his arm and rubbed his bandages, making them fall away from his face and reveal that his other eye had been burned almost shut along with half of his face burned red.

Dosu grinned as he rang the bell a few times before letting it drop out of his mouth, "Out of... chakra..." he said before turning to Genma, "Hey proctor... I'm done here..." Dosu managed to say before he fell to the side unconscious.

Genma immediately ran over to Dosu and checked his pulse, "The match is over! The Winner is-"

"DIE!"

Genma's eyes shot to Gaara before he he picked up Dosu and blurred away in a shunshin just before a spike of sand hit where Dosu was.

"Gaara!" Everyone in the arena turned and stared as the Kazekage landed in the arena, his Gold Dust bursting Gaara's Sand Sphere apart, "Stop this now!" he declared as he pulled on a glove and aimed it at Gaara.

A seal glowed on the palm of his glove, making Gaara's sand fall limply to the ground and for the boy to pause as his face became emotionless. But it was at this time that everyone noticed that Gaara's sand had been holding him up since his legs were completely limp. Probably from one of the pieces of metal from Dosu's exploded gauntlet.

Genma turned to the only entry/exit from the place, "Medics! Now!" Genma shouted.

#########

Naruto scowled as he looked up at the Kages, 'Was that an illegal move?' he thought curiously as he watched the Kazekage return to his seat and the three men discuss what happened.

After a few minutes, the Hokage looked down at Genma with a nod, causing the Jonin to nod in unison before shouting out across the arena, "Gaara has been given his one and only warning. One more disobedient action and you will be expelled from the exams. Got it?" Genma asked loud enough that the whole arena could hear him.

The emotionless Gaara merely nodded as his sand lifted his body from the ground and lifted him up to the viewer's box. The red headed boy floated to the corner before he sat down and looked at his motionless legs with no discernible expression. He looked at the wounds on his arm as his Sand Armour began to rebuild over his body.

Naruto frowned as he observed Gaara's movements, 'I could probably heal that.. I'll tell him after the exams.' Naruto thought, knowing how dangerous Gaara was without his legs was still more then enough for the exams.

"Next up! Son of the Legendary Slug Sannin; Naruto Senju!" Genma shouted, making Naruto smirk as he Shunshinned down to the arena, "Against the Clan Heir of the Naara Clan; Shikamaru Naara!"

Naruto watched as Shikamaru sighed and walked out of sight, making Naruto smirk as he knew the lazy boy was taking the stairs. After a split second, Naruto's eyes began darting around the arena, looking for natural things he could take advantage of. By the time Shikamaru made it back in to view, Naruto had moved to stand a bit further back then usual while tightening the straps on his weapons scroll, moving a hand to the one completely new seal on the cap of the right side of his scroll and fluctuating chakra through it so that it was ready to be activated.

Shikamaru lazily walked towards the centre, 'No matter how strong he is, Naruto's entire style is about getting close, and since I used the Shadow Trap technique while I was out of view, the moment his shadow touches mine I'll have him... though it may cost me a massive bruise or cracked limb, I'm sure he can fix it afterwards.' Shikamaru thought with a slight frown until he arrived in position and yawned, trying to antagonize his opponent.

Naruto simply smiled and bowed, "Ready when you two are." Naruto said to Shikamaru and Genma.

Shikamaru sighed, 'Well, so much for antagonizing him.'

Genma smirked at the two gennin before chuckling, 'This should prove to be an interesting battle.' he thought before waving his hand through the air, "BEGIN!"

Shikamaru took a defensive stance, ready for Naruto to pummel him, only for the blonde to use the shunshin to the other end of the arena. Shikamaru raised a brow as he and Naruto stood in their stances for almost thirty seconds of straight silence, "Are you gonna try something? Or are we just gonna chill?" Shikamaru asked.

Naruto's calm smile stayed in place as he watched Shikamaru. After a few more seconds of silence, Naruto spoke, "In approximately twelve minutes the sun will be at it's peak, meaning your shadows will be the least effective then. I don't mind waiting for the opportune moment."

Shikamaru looked up and frowned as he realised Naruto was right, 'Damn, I hadn't thought of that... though with my Shadow Trap it shouldn't matter, the moment he gets close I'll have him.' Shikamaru thought before lowering his gaze.

Shikamaru's eyes widened as Naruto had used the opportunity of him looking away to take off his scroll and unravel it part of the way, "Naruto?" Shikamaru asked, hoping for some form of explanation.

Naruto formed three hand seals before slamming his hands onto the scroll, "SENJU STYLE: INFINITE WEAPON ARMOURY!" Naruto exclaimed as the scroll began to glow.

Naruto leaped high into the air as Shikamaru frowned at the glowing scroll. But as Naruto clicked his fingers – making a battle shuriken appear in his hand from the scroll – Shikamaru realised that Naruto had learned a few distance tricks.

Ninja tool upon ninja tool began to rain down on Shikamaru, making the boy run and dive just to dodge the massive onslaught of weapons, 'When the hell did he learn to wield all of these?!' Shikamaru thought as a katana stabbed into the ground in front of him, making him change directions and dive out of the way of an axe.

##########

"How?!" Lee exclaimed as he watched Naruto – his new eternal rival – use a massive variety of weapons that he'd previously shown no interest in, "It's only been a month, no normal person could learn to wield all of these in such short a time!" he exclaimed.

"Actually," Tenten said with a smirk from her spot sitting in front of Lee, "With his Uzugan it was easy for him to memorize all of the styles I taught him. Since then he's been practising new moves and even though he could probably beat me in a fight, I'd say I'm still just better then him at Ninja Tools." she said with a proud grin."

Gai nodded as he listened to his students banter, though his eyes trailed over to Neji, seeing him staring with his Byakugan, 'Yeah... but the Senju Armoury Scroll supposedly one million weapons, it's not like he could've mastered them all to a basic level... could he?' Gai thought with a slight frown, worrying over whether his student would be able to beat Naruto.

##########

"Go Naruto!"

Hiruzen sighed as the two Kage by his sides jolted in shock before all three of them turned to see Jiraiya standing behind them, "Jiraiya, keep calm." Hiruzen said.

Jiraiya waved him off as he stepped forward to watch what was happening, "Whatever old man, I may have only had him for some training but his progress is unbelievable! I honestly reckon on a good day he could take a Jonin by himself."

Hiruzen chuckled, ignoring the shocked looks the Otokage and Kazekage directed at each other, "I don't know about that... and honestly, if there was anyone who could outsmart him, I think it could be Shikamaru."

##########

Naruto grinned as he fell back through the air, seeing all of his ninja tools spread around the arena, "Good to know you can run Shikamaru! But how about a fight? We're supposed to be able to show off our skills for the judges remember?"

"SHADOW PORT: SLASH!"

Naruto turned as another weapon appeared in his hands, slashing at nothing before the shadow from behind one of his spears revealed Shikamaru, holding out a kunai in preparation.

**CLANG**

"Ah!" Shikamaru as he was flung back by Naruto's heavy weapon. Shikamaru rolled to his feet before he recognised the weapon that had hit him, "What the hell?! When did you get that?!" Shikamaru asked.

Naruto effortlessly used his herculean strength to twirl Kubikiri Bocho above his head, "This old thing? Sasuke gave it to me back in the Land of Waves, right after our team defeated two Jonin level opponents." Naruto said with a smirk before holding the sword by his side, "Now take this!" Naruto shouted as he threw the blade like a shuriken.

Shikamaru dove to the ground behind a spiked shield Naruto had thrown only for the blonde to fall at him from above with a different weapon in hand. Shikamaru barely raised the shield in time before Naruto slammed his baton into the shield's face to throw Shikamaru back again.

Naruto smirked as he clicked both of his _pinky_ fingers at the same time, making all of the weapons sealed into the main portion of the Armoury Scroll return to their place while Naruto lifted Kubikiri again, smirking over at Shikamaru, "Ready?" Naruto asked.

Shikamaru got to his feet, already panting as he formed another set of seals, 'Now that my Shadow Trap is back in place, let's see if I can get him!' Shikamaru thought as he pulled out a kunai into each hand and ran towards Naruto.

Naruto grinned and ran forward as well with his sword, bringing it overhead before he slashed down at the oncoming Shikamaru before the two of them froze just a millimetre before impact.

Shikamaru smirked, "Shadow Trap success," Shikamaru said as he stood tall, prompting Naruto to do the same.

Naruto scowled as Shikamaru let go of one kunai, making him drop his sword to the ground, "You planned that didn't you?" Naruto asked.

Shikamaru raised his other hand – prompting Naruto to do the same though he held nothing – and aimed his kunai at Naruto, "Yep. So, are you going to give up?"

Naruto closed his eyes and chuckled, "Nope."

Shikamaru frowned and stepped forward, making Naruto do the same, "You do realise that in three more steps you'll be dead right? Even you can't heal a knife through the heart." he said as he stepped forward again.

Naruto stepped forward too, his eyes still closed, "Not true, I can heal that. But it doesn't matter, you won't stab me." Naruto said with a smirk.

Shikamaru paused face-to-face with Naruto as he poised his kunai, Naruto taking the same position but with an empty hand, "Oh yeah? And why is that?"

Naruto's eyes snapped open, making Shikamaru raise a brow curiously as he saw Naruto's Mangekyou for the first time, "Because you can't break my armour! SUSANO'O!"

Shikamaru's eyes widened as a chakra construct formed around Naruto, it's arm battering Shikamaru's kunai from his hand before the other arm came around at the same time a disfigured head formed from the green chakra, backhanding Shikamaru away and forcing the boy's jutsu to disconnect over the long distance.

Naruto looked around his Susano'o feeling it's power as it settled into it's Armoured State, the torso forming a demonic looking visage of a green warrior which had Naruto standing at it's centre.

Shikamaru gulped as he looked up at the large being, '….I did NOT see that coming.' he thought as the chakra construct lifted it's arms.

The left arm began to lose form while spinning, slowly becoming longer and longer until the arm from the elbow down appeared like a giant drill while a small red emblem glowed in the palm of the right arm, "TSUKUMO!" Naruto shouted as the red emblem glowed.

Meter long chakra needles began to launch from Naruto at Shikamaru, though before the shadow boy could dodge they embedded into the ground around him, forming a cage of chakra before Naruto dashed forward, his Susano'o raising the drill up over the cage about to crush and kill Shikamaru.

Shikamaru blinked as the massive thing paused. Shikamaru blinked again in confusion before his gaze lowered to see Naruto looking at him through the chakra needles, "So... wanna give up? I can just squash you if you want." Naruto said with a grin.

Shikamaru smirked, 'Well, can't blame me for giving up now, take that Asuma-sensei, Ino and Kaa-san.' he thought as he raised his arm, "I forfeit, no way for me to get out of this and able to go on. Besides, I reckon Naruto needed time to form enough chakra, so if I had a team, the moment I caught you I could've ended this. Am I right?" Shikamaru asked.

All of the green chakra constructs in the arena shattered and seemed to dissipate as Naruto and Shikamaru walked side-by-side back to Genma, Naruto speaking quietly, "Yep, and I reckon if you picked up on that then the Kages must have as well." Naruto mumbled as he glanced up to the kage box.

##########

"Winner Naruto!"

Hiruzen smiled as Jiraiya joined most of the crowd in cheering, 'Two young boys... obviously they're both ready for the life of a Chunnin.' Hiruzen thought as he watched Naruto and Shikamaru with pride as the two of them left side-by-side in a show of camaraderie.

"Th-that boy!" the Otokage gasped quietly as he tried to hide his reaction.

The Kazekage frowned as he looked at the three faces of the others with him, 'That was an interesting fight, and that thing he summoned was quite impressive... but why are all three of them so stunned by it?' he wondered, not knowing what it was to be able to wield a Susano'o.

##########

"Next match!" Genma began as Sasuke appeared in a shunshin, "The boy famous for being known as the Last Uchiha! Sasuke Uchiha!" Genma shouted as Sasuke readjusted his glasses with the palm of his hand and raised a hand to wave at the cheering crowd, "And the heir to the great Aburame Clan of Konoha! Shino Aburame!"

There was a few seconds of silence as people looked for Shino, only noticing the large group of insects climbing on top of each other and forming a large ball of insects before the ball fell apart to reveal Shino at it's core, his Dragonfly Wings already out and resting up along his back as his kama unfolded and clicked into place.

Shino turned to face Sasuke and readjusted his glasses just the same way Sasuke had upon arrival, "Sorry for the delay, my insects were getting restless." Shino said calmly as he approached Sasuke.

To the surprise of many, Sasuke took out what _appeared _to be a hand rolled 'cigarette' and lit it up with a click of his fingers making the flame needed, "No worries," he said before blowing out the smoke, "I'm in no rush." he said calmly.

##########

"Wow, he does the uninterested bored act just as well as Kakashi does... though why does he have to smoke now?" Kurenai asked her fellow Jonin.

Ibiki chuckled, "I'm glad he is. Every ninja with a quirk has something that's sure to offend or take at least one enemy off guard. At least it's not the same as Kakashi's little habit."

Kurenai, Anko and Ibiki glanced over at the grey-haired Jonin that seemed torn between watching his students fight and his book; Icha Icha Paradise.

Anko nodded as she turned back to the fight, "I'm with Ibiki on this one. Last thing we need is more pervs."

###########

Shino let his flightless insects crawl back into the grass as Sasuke leapt back, making Genma chuckle, "Alright then, BEGIN!" Genma said before disappearing in a shunshin.

Sasuke took a deep drag of his smoke before landing against the wall of the arena. He raised his head to look at Shino as the boy sent a large group of insects flying towards him.

Unknown to almost everyone, underneath Sasuke's glasses sat his newly evolved Sharingan. It already had three tomoe in one eye and two in the other, showing that he had almost mastered it as his eyes analysed everything about the oncoming insects.

Sasuke blew out a cloud of smoke before tossing his j up into the air and forming hand seals, "ASH STYLE: ASH CLONE JUTSU!"

Instantly the smoke clouded around the airborne joint before it disappeared in a plume of chakra-smoke, forming an exact replica of Sasuke except that it's skin seemed hazy and translucent, revealing only a swirling ash cloud inside it's body.

Sasuke leapt forward as his claws appeared in place thanks to the summoning bracelets on his wrists from the tigers. He and his Ash Clone landed side by side, the clone lifted it's shades as his Sharingan glistened while Sasuke raised his claws which sparkled in the light as the eyes on them glowed.

Shino paused as his wings flickered out and began blurring in high speed, "This just got interesting."

Shino's insects swarmed around the two Sasuke copies before a burst of fire and wind blew them away to reveal Sasuke clapping his gauntlets above his head before his Ash Clone stepped off of his back and leapt towards Shino, who was forced to dodge before lifting up into the air.

The real Sasuke back peddled as Shino's insects continued to chase and attack him, forcing Sasuke to retreat while sending out bursts of fire or air from his gauntlets.

Shino stayed dodging the Ash Clone's techniques before he suddenly dove through the air and slashed through the clone's torso with his kama, tearing the shirt into three pieces as Shino appeared on the other side.

Shino turned and watched as the ash that poured out came back and entered through the scar in the translucent skin before the skin reformed underneath the newly ripped shirt, making Shino's brow furrow, 'That's not good.'

The Ash clone leaped up at him again, making Shino move to block the punch to see if it was solid and managing to do so before he countered with a kick to the head that it pushed off of him to dodge, 'So it's solid like a shadow clone, but it reforms the body and still tries to dodge... maybe there is a limited number of regenerations.' Shino pondered before trying to get some space from the clone.

"UCHIHA FIRE STYLE: GRAND FIREBALL JUTSU!"

Shino turned and his eyes widened as half of his flight-capable hive was burned alive by Sasuke's jutsu. He quickly dove down towards Sasuke as the rest of his bugs changed course to go after the clone.

Sasuke scowled as he raised his claws, blocking Shino's attack as his swarm enveloped the Ash Clone, "Give up Sasuke. I have you preoccupied and your clone will soon be destroyed." Shino stated coolly.

Sasuke smirked and stopped sending chakra to his feet, sliding down the wall and dodging Shino' strike before he dropped onto all fours, moving like his tiger summons, he dashed to the ball of insects before surprising everyone by leaping at it.

Sasuke raised his black gauntlet, "BULLET PUNCH!" Sasuke shouted as he punched right through the ball, his trailing arm catching something as he came out the other side and flipped to land on his feet.

Sasuke casually lifting the joint that had been keeping the Ash Clone's form to his mouth and rested it there as he took a breath, "That was fun, time for round two?" Sasuke asked as he let out a cloud of smoke through the gaps of his wide mocking grin.

Shino – usually the most emotionless boy of the Konoha Rookies – seemed angry as his insects swarmed towards Sasuke and he followed right behind them.

Sasuke formed three hand seals and knelt as lightning chakra coursed down his arm and into the palm of his black gauntlet's grip, "CHIDORI!" Sasuke exclaimed as he made the jutsu and held it above his head, pumping it with a bit of extra chakra as he did so.

Small arcs of lightning shot off at everything that got close, including Shino's insects. Shino appeared through a gap in the insects swinging his kama as Sasuke's jutsu focussed to his palm, letting him aim his palm at Shino to hold his Ninjutsu as more of a shield then a piercing attack.

Just as Shino's first strike connected with Sasuke's palm, the insect user convulsed before dropping form to show that it was an insect clone.

Instantly Sasuke leaped backwards, dodging the majority of the insects that tried to swarm him and eat his chakra only for Shino to appear behind Sasuke with his second kama and swing at his spine.

**POOF**

Shino's brow rose behind his glasses as Sasuke appeared behind Shino in the same manner, one arm around his neck as the other hand held it's now flaming claws to Shino's eyes, "Forfeit or I'll take an eye Shino." Sasuke promised.

Shino raised his hand, halting the insects that were coming towards him, to try and help, "Deal. You win Sasuke-san. Proctor, I forfeit this match." Shino said as he dropped his weapon and lowered his guard.

Sasuke smirked as the two separated, "I'll have Naruto replenish your reserves if you want, come back up with me." he said as he helped Shino to stand tall.

"Winner Sasuke Uchiha!" Genma announced, earning the cheers of the crowd, "That calls the end of the first round! The contestants will be given a one hour lunch before we get back to it! In this time, please feel free to visit the many food stalls, place bets at any of the three betting booths and enjoy your time here! I'll call everyone back to their seats just before we resume these matches with Round Two! Neji Hyuuga against Hinata of the Leaf!"

##########

Naruto smiled at Genma's announcement before he turned to the girl by his side, "Since you're up first come with me." he said as he took her hand and lead her out of the main room and into the competitor's hallway.

Hinata blushed as she looked down at their entwined hands, letting him pull her along until they got to some steps and he sat her down, "What are we doing?" she asked curiously as Naruto took his jacket off.

Naruto smiled as he formed a quartet of hand seals before putting one hand on her stomach and the other on the small of her back, "I'm refilling your chakra reserves, remember the bet Kakashi-sensei made, you can do this." Naruto said, trying to instil confidence in Hinata.

The girl smiled, "As much as I don't like it, no matter what happens I will win this for one simple reason." she said with a chuckle.

Naruto raised a brow, "And that would be?"

Hinata smiled at Naruto, "If I had the Caged Bird Seal, it'd be no shock at all if Neji used it on me, so somewhere in the back of his mind, I reckon he expects me to be able to do the same." she said with a chuckle.

Naruto frowned, "You're going to use his own Seal against him? I thought you hated that Seal more then anything?"

Hinata raised a brow at Naruto, "I don't want to do it, but part of being a ninja – and part of the promotion to Chunnin – is about putting aside my own thoughts and doing what's best for the mission. If that means causing Neji a headache that'll make him pass out so that I don't have to be killed, so be it."

Naruto frowned at that, but he stayed quiet since he couldn't defy her logic. After a few moments, Naruto took his hands away, "There we go, back at one hundred percent."

"Reckon you could give me a boost too?"

Naruto looked up as Sasuke came up the stairs sans Shino, "Where's Shino?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke shrugged as he re-lit his joint, "In the medic bay," he said before taking a drag, "You gonna offer to fix Gaara's legs? Or you gonna wait til after your fight with him?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto smiled, "Normally I'd be upset with fighting an opponent that's not at full power, but I have to show tactics in these exams, so I'll inform him at the start of my match that I can heal him and that if he forfeits I'll do so immediately in front of everyone." Naruto said calmly before waving Sasuke over to sit in front of Hinata.

Sasuke did so and offered the joint to Hinata who rolled her eyes, "No thanks, unlike you who has the Sharingan I can't slow down my perception of the world, that stuff will actually effect my fighting style unlike yours." Hinata said.

Sasuke showed discomfort as Naruto placed his hands on his body, "That's cool, more for me." he said as he took another drag.

Naruto shook his head before moving his hands to Sasuke's chest, 'Hm... it seems the minuscule amount of medical jutsu he's learned from me has kick-started his healing rate just like with Hinata-chan... even more interesting is his marijuana use seems to seek out that possibility itself... typical Uchiha luck... though I guess being a stoner has to have _some _kind of positive to it.'

##########

'Keep calm.' Gaara thought as he stared down at his limp legs.

**TEAR THEM ALL APART**

Gaara shook his head to ignore the voice as he focussed on reforming his Sand Armour, 'Shhh mother, it'll be okay, just let me-'

**DON'T TELL ME WHAT TO DO! I'D TAKE THEIR BLOOD MYSELF IF I COULD!**

Gaara took a shuddering breath as he took control of the armour around his legs so that he could seemingly stand normally, 'I will take all of their blood, I will drain these people dry.'

"Gaara?"

**KILL THEM ALL!**

'N-not all of them, just the Konoha ninjas.' Gaara thought as he tried to focus on standing.

"Gaara?"

**KILL THAT CUNT!**

Gaara lifted his head and took a deep breath as he looked at Temari, 'N-not Temari, she's... not like father.'

**SHE HATES YOU TOO!**

'No!' Gaara thought as invisible tears soaked from his eyes into the Sand Armour.

"Gaara, just hold on for a little longer okay?"

Gaara looked up at Temari, panting heavily as the voice in his head began to fade, "Leave me." Gaara said, trying to make Temari flee, she didn't have to be here any more! She lost so she can leave right now!

Temari watched her brother stress and hold in the pain. She glanced over her shoulder at the one leaf Ninja who was watching them both with a frown, 'Come on Gaara, you can do this, just hold on.' she thought with worry.

On the other side of the room, Neji watched the two with a frown, 'That boy's chakra is so unstable I can feel it... once I take out Hinata and prove myself to the main family, he or Naruto will be my next opponent, I wonder if my seal-strike technique will work on either of them, they both have major seals on their stomach after all...'

##########

"Well," Hiruzen said as he sat back and looked to the Otokage, "If I'm being honest, your ninja Dosu is more then ready for Chunnin I think. He showed many skills and the ability to think quick to stand against Gaara-san," Hiruzen said before turning to the Kazekage, "And even though Gaara-san and Temari-san are quite powerful, unfortunately I have to say that I don't think they are ready for Chunnin yet as they seemed to show little more then high level of only one skill... how would Gaara fair on a boat? Or how would Temari fair indoors? Or against multiple targets?"

The Kazekage shrugged and chuckled darkly, "The two of them and my other son Kankuro are the ultimate trio. They've done B-ranks together to capture missing ninjas and come back completely unharmed with their mission accomplished," The Kazekage said, "And if their next mission is accomplished they will gain a field promotion anyway."

The Otokage chuckled, "Yes, Dosu deserves Chunnin for sure, I have to be honest, I did not think he had it in him." he said before turning to his two guards, "Tayuya, after we're done here fetch him for me alright?"

The red-haired shorter guard nodded before stepped back, making Hiruzen glance to the Kazekage, "You know... I can't help but notice you opted to have no guards on this day. That's quite risky since you have no idea who has bought tickets to these events. I always stay prepared for such events." the Hokage suggested to the Kazekage.

The Kazekage looked at him with a frown, 'He's ready for such events? What does that mean?' he thought as he merely shrugged before glancing down to the arena.

"Hey Sensei, I got everyone's lunch like you asked."

"You made me pay for it!"

The Otokage and Kazekage turned to look at Jiraiya and Tsunade upon arrival while Hiruzen chuckled at them both, "Thank you for getting it Tsunade-chan, I'll pay you back later on Jiraiya-kun." Hiruzen said as his students passed out the bowls of food to everyone.

The Kazekage paused as he looked down at the meal that Tsunade popped the lid off of for him, "Is this... ramen?"

##########

Shizune stepped away from the betting booth with a handful of small pieces of paper, 'One thing I've definitely learned from Tsunade-sama over the years is what the difference between a good bet and a bad bet is. And so far, jackpot!' Shizune thought with a smile as she almost skipped back to the medical bay.

##########

A short while later, Genma stood at attention in the middle of the arena, waiting calmly as the crowd quietened down, "Thank you everyone! And welcome to the second Round of the Chunnin exams!"

The crowd cheered as Neji took the Gentle Fist stance and Hinata took her Wing Chun stance.

"Neji Hyuuga against Hinata of the Leaf! BEGIN!"

##########

Chapter End.

That took waaaay too long haha. But now I'm back to writing for this account and getting things started up again :)

Anyways, please Read and Review! See ya all next chapter.

Love ya and leave ya! Alky out!


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter Twenty-One: Chunnin Exam Finals  
Round 2 – Matches 6, Semi-finals and…

The crowd cheered as Neji took the Gentle Fist stance and Hinata took her Wing Chun stance.

"Neji Hyuuga of the Leaf against Hinata of the Leaf! BEGIN!"

Neji lowered his stance as his Byakugan activated letting him focus entirely on Hinata, "When I win here Hinata-_sama_," he said sarcastically, "I will be accepted into the Main Branch Family and I can challenge Hanabi for heir status. Just as fate has decreed already." Neji taunted.

Hinata kept her face blank as she stood perfectly still, her eyes covered by her headband even though her Byakugan showed her everything anyway. She rolled her wrists, ready to unseal handfuls of senbon at a moment's notice even as she sent chakra to her joints to loosen them up for maximum flexibility, 'Keep calm and be ready.' she thought as she took a deep breath.

Neji's smirk stayed steady as he focussed on her, waiting for some form of reply, while all she did was stand and wait calmly. After five minutes, his smirk had faded to show a scowl as he waited for something from Hinata, "Well? Are you just going to stand there? Or fight me?" he asked.

Hinata just stayed still, showing no reaction as she continued to circulate her chakra throughout her body in a calm continuous flow.

Another ten minutes past the mumbling from the crowd was obvious, though as if there was some invisible signal, Hinata suddenly launched a single senbon at Neji which landed between his feet as the Hyuuga boy leapt back. Hinata went back to her position and waited calmly, her unseen Hidden Mist Jutsu slowly flowing out around her feet to the eyes of those watching without the Byakugan.

Neji landed and took a defensive stance, expecting some kind of follow up that never came as he saw Hinata's chakra begin to flow out of her body and into the air, 'What is she up to? The Hidden Mist Jutsu won't work on me, I can see through it.'

Hinata smirked slightly before she disappeared from normal view, the mist becoming too much to see through. It was at this time that Neji got impatient and ran forward, leading with his Gentle Fist Style.

Hinata's Wing Chun was easily able to block and parry every single attack he sent her way. She managed to do so for his whole barrage before he stepped back and led with a hard palm thrust towards her sternum.

Hinata crossed her arms as she lifted them in an upward motion, sweeping Neji's strike over her head as she stepped forward and put her leg directly behind his leading foot before she landed an elbow to his stomach and an uppercut, knocking him back and off balance before she turned in a circle while chakra built up in her hands, "EIGHT TRIGRAMS: SKY PALM!" she exclaimed.

###########

"EIGHT TRIGRAMS: SKY PALM!"

**BOOM**

Hiruzen's eyes widened as Hinata's attack blasted a clear gap in the mist that Neji was flung through before he rolled into a crouch and stood tall, blood and dirt on his body as he panted heavily in obvious pain, "Hinata... incredible, that was such a powerful technique." he mumbled.

##########

Neji coughed up blood as he panted before glaring at Hinata, 'How?! I've been trying to learn that technique for the past three months!' he wondered before he spotted her movements.

Hinata mirrored her previous spin and chakra built up in her palms again, "EIGHT TRIGRAMS: SKY PALM!" she shouted again.

Neji frantically began to spin, a shell of chakra forming around him, "EIGHT TRIGRAMS: ROTATION!" he exclaimed as he revealed his A-rank technique.

Hinata quickly ran at Neji as he began to spin, easily displacing her technique as she flung a handful of senbon at him. He came out of his spin with a kunai already in hand which he used to parry the senbon before he spun with the momentum once more and threw the kunai at Hinata.

Hinata spun away from the kunai while forming three one handed seals, "SECRET JUTSU: WATER NEEDLES!" Hinata exclaimed as the mist condensed around them and began to launch water needles as soon as they were formed with her sprinting right behind them.

Neji gritted his teeth as he once more began to spin, "ROTATION!" he shouted as he kept up the shield to destroy the attacking water needles.

Hinata leapt up into the air as the Water Needles ran out and Neji was about to slow his jutsu, though she finished her hand seals just before he could, "SUMMONING JUTSU!"

**POOF**

A house-sized mammoth appeared and fell on top of Neji's technique stomach first. It barely seemed phased as the Rotation drilled against it's belly. After a few seconds, Neji's technique fell, showing how much chakra it cost him to hold the jutsu while the mammoth finally landed on it's feet and looked down at Neji, swinging it's massive trunk to extend and reach for Neji.

The Hyuuga flipped over the trunk before it extended and tried to grab him again, forcing him to continue dodging as he retreated further and further back. His eyes focussing so much on the trunk trying to grab him that he didn't see Hinata leap forward and sprint down the trunk of her summoned animal before leaping at Neji while forming hand seals, "MAMMOTH STYLE: RUBBER EXTENSION!" She shouted as her arms suddenly stretched and reached out towards Neji.

The Hyuuga boy's eyes widened as the trunk began to heard him back towards Hinata, whose arms swept at his feet to try and trip him every time he set down a foot. Neji continued to flee and dodge before he leapt up in a back flip over her arms and landed on the mammoth trunk, running up it before he was flung up over the mammoth to escape the area and land with a roll against the opposite wall.

Hinata's arms retracted before she ran between the legs of her mammoth, while the beast she summoned turned slowly before facing Neji from behind Hinata. Hinata spun, unsealing her Naginata in the fluid movement before she hopped into the air, her mammoth's extendo trunk giving her something to land on before she used her chakra to stick to it as it reached towards Neji.

Neji barely had a moment to breath as he fled from her never ending onslaught. No matter where he ran, the trunk would move Hinata near enough to him that she could slash at him from some angle or another.

After a few minutes, Hinata landed a slash along his back and then another on his leg, before she spun and slashed at his face. Neji barely ducked the slash before he leapt at her in a reckless tackle that knocked her from the trunk and into the air, letting him grip her face tightly with his hand before he thrust it towards the ground, "I'll always win!" he shouted angrily.

**POOF**

As 'Hinata's' head hit the ground she dispelled in a cloud of smoke, making Neji's eyes widen before the mammoth's trunk slammed his back and made him fall to the ground next to the dropped Naginata.

"Wow, you didn't notice that was a clone?"

Neji turned and looked at the mammoth's head to see Hinata sitting their calmly, "A clone? When?!" he exclaimed as he looked between her and the dispelling smoke.

Hinata slid down her mammoth's trunk as it flicked at the end, letting her perform a graceful back flip before she landed back in the middle of the arena, "Just after I summoned my friend, while you were focussing on maintaining your Rotation to block the needles and then my mammoth, I knew you couldn't focus up here as well so I had a Shadow Clone continue the attack while I recuperated some of my wasted chakra," Hinata explained before she raised her hands and lifted her headband, tying it around her forehead before her eyes glared hard at Neji and she took a Gentle Fist stance, "Let's finish this cousin!" she exclaimed before running forward at Neji.

Neji gritted his teeth in anger before he charged at Hinata, the two of them running on a collision course before Hinata's naginata suddenly disappeared in a plume of smoke to reveal another Hinata that launched a handful of senbon.

Neji's Byakugan spotted the tiny needles and he turned to face them before he ducked and dove to the side, only noticing Hinata launch her own senbon at the spot he was about to occupy, he leapt up in a risky move that got him three senbon to the right leg and one to the left. He barely managed to raise his arms in a weak block as Hinata leapt towards him with her final move, "EIGHT TRIGRAMS: EIGHT GATES ASSAULT!" she shouted as she shut down his body's major chakra centres in only eight hits.

Neji gasped as his eyes snapped shut, then he was unconscious.

Hinata sighed as she came to a stop behind Neji, high-fiving her clone before both it and her mammoth dispelled. Hinata turned to the Kages and bowed politely before nodding to Genma as the man chuckled.

"Winner! Hinata of the Leaf!"

Naruto appeared in a shunshin and hugged Hinata, "Nice one!" Naruto exclaimed with a cheer.

Hinata laughed as Naruto lifted her into the air, he only put her down when Sasuke appeared next to them, "Alright you two, I get that you're excited, but now it's Naruto's turn." Sasuke said with a nod towards the opposite side of the arena.

Sand began to swirl and writhe around itself as Sasuke took Hinata and escorted her off of the battlefield. Naruto and Sasuke nodded to each other once before Naruto turned to face Gaara as the boy appeared.

Naruto nodded to Genma as the man spoke with his chakra enhanced voice, "Next match! Gaara of the Sand against Naruto of the leaf!"

Naruto smirked as the crowd erupted into more cheers. Naruto took the scroll off of his back and made a Shadow Clone – which took it from the arena and back up to the waiting area – while he crackled his knuckles and took the stance his mother had taught him.

Gaara's mouth twitched as he glared at Naruto, "Time to die Senju." he muttered as his Sand Armour lifted his body so that he was standing upright and his sand swirled around him.

Genma leapt back as he dropped his hand, "BEGIN!"

Naruto flashed through hand seals before taking out a kunai that suddenly engulfed in flames, "FIRE STYLE: HALO DANCE!" Naruto shouted as the launched fire at Gaara.

Gaara waved his arms, forming a few pillars of sand to raise up and block the incoming fire as more sand shot forward at Naruto as the blonde's Uzugan span, using a shunshin to suddenly appear behind all of the sand and Gaara himself.

Gaara barely had time to glance over his shoulder before Naruto's fist was blocked by his natural sand defence, though to Gaara's surprise, the sand was blasted away from the sheer power of the strike.

Naruto held an arm back as Gaara's gourd broke from his back and reached towards Naruto, "SAND COFFIN!" Gaara shouted.

Naruto disappeared again and appeared right above Gaara as the chakra in his hand formed a blue chakra sphere, "RASENGAN!" Naruto shouted as he thrust the jutsu at the sand defence, ploughing through it before his jutsu drilled into Gaara's shoulder as the boy tried to dodge.

The Sand Armour cracked before it shattered, showing that Gaara wasn't inside it. Naruto landed and rolled to his feet, looking as the Sand Clone fell to pieces and the rest of the nearby sand suddenly flowed towards him, "SAND TSUNAMI!"

Naruto's eyes span as he activated his shunshin technique, appearing high in the air before he spotted Gaara on the ground in the distance, Naruto used the shunshin again to move even higher into the air, far above the arena as he formed hand seals, "PEGASUS ART: WIND RIDER!" Naruto exclaimed as he began to glide around in a circle, circling the arena from above before he performed a hand seal, "MULTI-SHADOW CLONE JUTSU!"

Groups of ten Shadow Clones appeared and dive-bombed at Gaara in a kamikaze head butt barrage. Naruto managed to make a continuous stream of clones attack Gaara so much that the sand user made a defensive sphere of sand around him, making it thicker with sand as spikes began to jab out and pop the clones as they got close.

Naruto frowned before forming two more clones, both of which began to form hand seals, "NINJA ART: POISON FOG JUTSU: DISTANCE!" one clone exclaimed as it spewed forth a dense plume of poison fog that engulfed the ball of sand.

Naruto's other clone finished it's hand seals, "FIRE STYLE: HALO FLAME!" it shouted as it launched the Halo of fire that made the fog ignite and explode.

Naruto dive bombed towards the ground, performing a front flip as he sent his chakra through his leg, "HEAVEN'S KICK OF PAIN!" Naruto shouted as he kicked the ground just in front of the sphere Gaara was inside.

The ground broke apart and the sphere was flung up into the air, revealing it's hardened outer shell from Naruto's combined technique which made it so that most of the outermost layer was glass while the rest of it had hardened beyond Gaara's use other then the innermost layer.

Naruto's clones fell down past the sphere, both of them punching it higher into the air above the arena. Naruto leapt up to his clones as they continued falling and they threw him up after the sphere.

##########

The Hokage, Kazekage and Otokage stared in amazement at the skill they were seeing, "Naruto... geez, this is incredible." Hiruzen mumbled.

Jiraiya grinned from his place just behind Hiruzen, "Haha! Yeah he is! We came up with this plan during the break! Naruto is truly a tactical genius given the right tools."

Tsunade looked up at her son as he was thrown into the air, her grin spread across her face wider then anyone had seen before as she cheered for her son, "Go Naruto!"

##########

Naruto grinned as he heard his mother's voice, his eyes spinning as he used the shunshin to move higher and higher, punching the ball up higher as he did so until he saw the glass had been shattered off entirely, 'Time to finish this!' Naruto thought as he used the shunshin to move up into the air above the sphere.

Green chakra swirled around him as everyone watched the torso of Naruto's Humanoid form Susano'o form, catching the sphere like a baseball before Naruto and his technique spun in the air, "TAKE THIS!" Naruto shouted as he used his chakra to give his Susano'o his enhanced physical properties.

The sphere created a sonic boom as it shot down towards the ground at high speed, slamming right into the middle of the arena and forming a massive cloud of dust to be thrown up into the air, the whole stadium shook from the strike as Naruto fell to the ground, using a shunshin to lose all momentum and land safely from the fall.

As the dust fell the arena was revealed, a crater at it's centre with only a very thin and cracked shell of sand that began to shake.

Naruto sighed as he readied his shunshin to dodge anything that was coming before suddenly, a massive arm of blue-veined sand reached out towards him. He used a shunshin to get to the other side of the arena as the arm retracted into the sphere, 'What the hell?' Naruto wondered as his eyes saw the sudden random spiking of a dark chakra inside the shell of sand.

##########

The Otokage glanced up at the Kazekage and the Kazekage rolled his wrist, sending some of his gold dust around the corner.

The Hokage frowned as he felt the spike of chakra and noticed the sand, he sat back with a sigh as if in relief that both of the gennin weren't hurt while subtly his elbows nudged the thighs of both Jiraiya and Tsunade as the two stood by his chair.

Jiraiya continued laughing, patting the Hokage on the shoulder and tapping with his pointer finger, 'Jiraiya noticed it too,' the Hokage thought with a hidden smirk while Tsunade was distracted with how her son was doing.

##########

An ANBU in a black hood formed hand seals as he noticed the Gold Dust float past him, "NINJA ART: TEMPLE OF NIRVANA TECHNIQUE!" he muttered as feathers began to form above each conscious person in the arena.

##########

"Genjutsu?" Sasuke muttered as he looked up, his Sharingan seeing the multiple signals of a Genjutsu that was affecting people, "Hinata, Shino, Shikamaru. Something's going on..."

##########

Naruto sighed as he watched the sand shell fall, spotting Gaara with blood on his head, back and legs as the boy held a hand over his eye and shouted in pain, "Dude... it's just a few wounds, I can heal it all if you forfeit..." Naruto offered with an honest smile.

Suddenly, Kankuro, Temari and their Sensei Baki landed around Gaara, Gaara's two two siblings put his arms over their shoulders before they leapt off, "Hey! What gives?!" Naruto shouted as Baki dashed at him with a kunai.

Genma blocked the strike, "Naruto, the Sand and Sound villages are attacking us, follow those three and take anyone else you can with you. Take them down and keep fighting Chunnin Naruto Senju!" Genma said with a grin before attacking Baki.

Naruto looked up and around in awe as he spotted ninjas fighting everywhere, then suddenly, Sasuke, Hinata, Shino and Shikamaru landed next to him, "Naruto! It's an invasion!" Sasuke shouted.

Naruto nodded before he noticed that the others were silent, all looking to him for orders on what to do, "...Right, guys, we're going to capture the Kazekage's kids, and after taking them hostage we are going to make the Kazekage force his troops to stand down, got it?!" Naruto exclaimed.

The four nodded before Naruto ran ahead, "Let's go! Shino, did you bug them?" Naruto asked.

Shino's brow twitched at Naruto's choice of words, "Yes I did. I have a mark on the puppeteer and fan user, but my insects wouldn't stay on Gaara."

Naruto nodded, "Alright, you take point, we've got this!" Naruto exclaimed as they leapt out of the arena, Shino's dragonfly technique letting him fly ahead and lead the group.

##########

"NINJA ART: FOUR FLAME FORMATION!"

Jiraiya, Tsunade and Hiruzen stood back to back as Orochimaru and Rasa faced them on both sides, "What is the meaning of this Rasa?! Orochimaru is an S rank criminal even in your country!" Hiruzen exclaimed.

Rasa sighed as he lifted a hand to his cloak, "It's not like I have a choice," He said as he tore the cloak, mask and Kage hat off and revealed his cracked skin and black eyes, "He killed me and used some sick jutsu to bring me back. I'm under his control for the most part."

Hiruzen frowned and looked to Jiraiya, "I think you'd be best at handling him. Would you mind taking the lead and Tsunade can back you up?"

"What?" Tsunade asked angrily, "And leave you up against Orochimaru and... whatever those are?!"

"FORBIDDEN JUTSU: SUMMONING: REANIMATION!" Orochimaru shouted as three coffins began to rise out of the ground.

Jiraiya and Hiruzen's eyes widened, both of them familiar with the jutsu as they formed opposing hand seals, ""NINJA ART: JUTSU SUPPRESSION!"" they yelled in unison as the outer two boxes sunk back into the weird portal they came from.

Tsunade's eyes narrowed as she picked up on the intricacies of the boxes, "Coffins... marked, Fourth, Second and First..." she pondered before her eyes widened, "No way! Not the Hokages?!" she exclaimed.

The middle coffin fell open as the other two disappeared, making Orochimaru shrug as he put a kunai into the back of the man's head, "No matter, at least it's now three on three." Orochimaru said with a chuckle.

Hiruzen sighed, "...Okay, new plan?" he asked.

"No, it's okay, I'll fight my uncle." Tsunade said surely.

"Are you certain Tsunade?" the Hokage asked in concern.

Tsunade smirked and nodded, "Oh yeah, I totally got this," she said confidently as the Second Hokage – Tobirama Senju – launched a Water Dragon out of thin air, "HELL FIST!" Tsunade shouted as she punched the dragon into oblivion.

Hiruzen smirked as he ran at Orochimaru while forming seals, "Now is the time for your end Orochimaru! NINJA ART: TERRAIN SHURIKEN!" Hiruzen shouted as he launched numerous roof tiles at the snake Sannin.

Orochimaru cut the tiles down with his sword, "You wish old man." he said with a dark chuckle before darting forward as well.

##########

Naruto and his team – Hinata, Sasuke, Shino and Shikamaru – were rushing through the trees after the scent in the distance, but Hinata looked over her shoulder with a frown, "Bad news, there's eight Jonin coming this way guys, I think they've caught on to our plan." she said to the group.

Naruto turned after his next jump, "Anyone got a plan?" Naruto asked.

Shikamaru sighed, "What a drag, I'll take this, Naruto, can you give me one clone? That's all I need." he said before saluting the group, "Catch ya later guys." he said before dropping to the forest floor.

**POOF**

Naruto's clone dropped down after him as the group faced ahead again, "Do you think he'll be okay?" Hinata asked.

Naruto nodded, "Yeah, If Shikamaru's plan doesn't work then my clone will at least get him out of there."

##########

A flare went off above the village.

"That's the signal!" a Chunnin shouted to a group of ready Shinobi.

Eight ninja put their hands on a large seal, "SUMMONING JUTSU: SEAL ACTIVATE!" they shouted in unison.

**POOF**

A large two-headed snake appeared and barrelled into the wall of Konoha, making it crack and many Shinobi and civilians react in fear as after a few more hits, it broke the wall wide open.

"SUMMONING JUTSU!"

The Sound ninjas paused as did many Konoha civilians as the snake disappeared from the attacking the wall and reappeared underneath Anko Mitarashi, facing those on the outside, "Hey Munmaru, switcheroo time." she said with a grin.

The two heads of the snake looked at each other and they seemed to shrug before turning to the Sound ninjas and lunging toward the scared silent shinobi.

##########

"I can see them! The puppeteer has broken off!" Hinata exclaimed.

Naruto turned to Shino, "Shino, since we can see the others now, would you mind taking out the puppeteer?" he asked.

Shino adjusted his glasses, "I will do so, good luck." he said before flying up above the trees before dive bombing and punching Kankuro's puppet the moment it appeared in Naruto's path.

Naruto, Hinata and Sasuke shot forward through the trees, Hinata in the lead as she chased down their targets.

##########

Temari gasped for air as she carried Gaara forward, 'He's pretty heavy when he's dead weight like this.' she thought before glancing over her shoulder as she heard a noise.

Temari leapt away as Sasuke's Bullet Punch hit the branch she had been previously occupying before Naruto appeared next to them and went to punch her.

"GET AWAY!" Gaara screamed as his sand burst out around him, knocking away Naruto and Temari as the mass of sand then swirled around him.

"Hinata! Take down Temari! Sasuke! Set him on fire!" Naruto shouted as he formed hand seals of his own.

"SANDSTORM SHURIKEN!" Gaara's voice shouted out from the cloud of sand.

"UCHIHA FIRE STYLE: GRAND FIREBALL JUTSU!" Sasuke shouted as he launched his own Ninjutsu.

Naruto appeared behind Gaara's sand cloud with a flaming kunai, "HALO DANCE!" Naruto shouted as he launched flaming arcs towards the cloud.

Suddenly, the wind and weapons from Gaara's attack began to rotate in a violent sandstorm that disrupted Naruto and Sasuke's attacks before all of the sand suddenly froze and condensed, revealing that Gaara's entire body was covered in sand to form a demonic looking Tanuki that laughed sadistically, "COME AND FIGHT ME!" Gaara's mismatched voice screamed before he blurred at Naruto faster then he should've been capable of.

Naruto barely raised a block in time as Gaara's claw slammed him back through a tree, but Naruto flipped, landing against the next tree before leaping back at Gaara while catching the tree that he had been thrown through, swinging it like a bat that threw Gaara's form up into the air.

Sasuke formed hand seals before he crouched, his Chidori sparking into existence in his black gauntlet, "CHIDORI BULLET! Sasuke shouted as the eyes on the gauntlet glowed and he shot past Gaara as nothing more then a blur.

Sasuke landed next to Naruto as the two looked up at Gaara, the menacing thing holding it's shoulder in obvious pain as Gaara's blood seeped through. The two looked at each other and smirked as they felt their Seals pulsing at the large volume of chakra use, "Wanna kick it up a notch?" Sasuke asked as he took off his glasses and put them in his ninja pouch.

Naruto's smirk grew as he took off his Senju Jacket and tossed it aside, "Seems unfair that he's the only one... let's do it!"

Gaara roared as he charged at Sasuke and Naruto, ignoring their chakra fluctuation as black marks began to move across their skin, "DIE!" Gaara shouted as he slammed his enlarged fists towards the two.

**BOOM**

The low standing branch was obliterated as Gaara was flung back, Sasuke's purple chakra throwing away one arm while Naruto's red chakra did the same for the other. The two landed on the ground as Gaara slammed into a tree as suddenly, Hinata appeared between them while shouting as her Curse Seal burst as well, letting pinkish-purple chakra burst around her as she formed hand seals and channelled her chakra into the most destructive jutsu she knew, "WATER STYLE: EXPLOSIVE WATER SHOCKWAVE!" She exclaimed before spewing forth her attack at Gaara.

Naruto and Sasuke smirked as the lake-full of water slammed into Gaara from Hinata's mouth, throwing him back through the forest into a clearing where he got stuck against the debris of other fallen trees.

Gaara only just rose to his odd Tanuki legs, panting for air as he looked up to see Naruto and Sasuke appear in matching Shunshin techniques on either side of him, both of them holding a Ninjutsu in their hand, "CHIDORI FLAME!" Sasuke exclaimed as he aimed for Gaara's shoulder.

Naruto shouted as he thrust forward his own Ninjutsu. One that he had learned from watching Jiraiya do it, "GRAND RASENGAN!"

Gaara lifted his arms, causing two shields of sand to rise up from the ground that the two slammed their techniques into. Naruto's attack slowed as it grinded through the technique, while Sasuke's Chidori Flame cut right the shield and was redirected, only managing to cut a gash down Gaara's actual chest and sear the sand into glass. Gaara shouted in pain as Naruto's Rasengan finished grinding through the other shield, slamming his jutsu into Gaara's torso, "TAKE THIS!" Naruto exclaimed as his jutsu expanded.

Gaara shouted in pain as he was flung through a few trees into the distance, the two paused and caught their breath as Hinata landed between them again, "We did it guys! He's unconscious!" she said as her Curse Seal faded.

Naruto nodded and clapped his hands and focussed, his red chakra converting into medical chakra and healing himself back to about 90%, then he took a deep breath, his Curse Seal receding back before he turned to the other two with a grin.

Sasuke looked down at his hands as his gauntlets went back into the storage seals on his arms. He smiled as he saw the marks of the Curse Seal, 'I like this power... I wonder how many other enemies there are back at the Leaf.' he thought with a smirk as he chuckled slightly.

Hinata took her headband off of her eyes, her Byakugan deactivated as she sat down with a sigh of exhaustion, "I can grab the bitch over there." she said with a smile.

Naruto frowned at her actions, 'Once again her Curse Seal is messing with her... I wonder if she realises it.' he pondered before shrugging. Naruto was about to speak up when suddenly, he felt a massive chakra pulse. He turned to face the rising smoke cloud that enveloped a massive amount of the forest above them, "It's not over guys!"

Hinata looked up and scowled as she activated her Byakugan, her eyes widening as she saw the whole thing, "Th-that's the One Tailed Demon! The Sand Tanuki!" she exclaimed.

Sasuke smirked as he cracked his fists, his Curse Seal pulsing, "Finally, something to test this power against for real." Sasuke said before dashing forward.

""Sasuke!"" Hinata and Naruto shouted as he disappeared towards the beast.

"We have to get help! He's insane!" Naruto shouted.

Hinata was about to reply when suddenly, a mass of Sand reached up from the ground and grabbed her, trapping her against the ground as a crazy voice echoed, **"I WANT YOU SENJU!" **

Naruto used his chakra scalpels and cut the sand, but the moment he did it returned and was instantly was solid again, there was nothing that could get the girl out, "Gaara! Let her go!" Naruto shouted.

"Th-the head!" Hinata gasped as the sand crawled up her neck, "You have to wake up Gaara! The Ichibi's head-!" Hinata barely managed to get out before her head was covered in sand.

Finally the smoke and sand had taken form and dropped from Naruto's vision, letting him look up at the massive demon that grinned down at him, **"GAARA'S NOT HERE BOY! YOU PUT HIM TO SLEEP!" **

Naruto paled before his eyes hardened and he nodded, his Curse Seal moving over his body once more as red chakra burst out around him, "Fine, I'll take you down and free her." Naruto said with pure determination as his Uzugan morphed into the Mangekyou, "SUSANO'O!"

Shukaku stepped back as Naruto's green Susano'o torso came into existence, though this time, the torso that surrounded Naruto wore light armour and had a drill-like sword in it's right hand and red emblem glowing just above Naruto's head inside of it.

Naruto and his Susano'o charged forward and leapt into the air as he began to use his Pegasus Art: Wind Rider as Shukaku took a deep breath and blew out four blasts of condensed air, **"PRESSURISED AIR BULLET!" **Shukaku screamed.

Naruto shouted as his Susano'o thrust the drill forward, the point of it sending fire around the drill to destroy the bullet.

**BOOM**

Naruto's Susano'o appeared from the smoke cloud unharmed and destroyed the next three before it's ribcage opened up, "Take this! TSUKUMO!" Naruto shouted.

Shukaku shouted in shock as the fast barrage of chakra needles lodged into it's body, **"Ouch you bastard!" **Shukaku shouted as it raised it's hand towards the Susano'o.

Naruto looked down as large amounts of earth and sand began to rise up towards him and his Susano'o as he glided closer to Shukaku, 'Crap!' Naruto thought as he tried to come up with something.

"CHIDORI FLAME!"

Sasuke broke through the topmost layer of the rising sand, turning it into a horizontal layer of glass that fell down to stop the rest of the rising sand as Sasuke continued towards the Shukaku. Naruto swooped down, his Susano'o letting Sasuke land on it's hand before he threw Sasuke at Shukaku's head.

Sasuke's eyes widened as he was flung through the air. As he levelled out in the air above Shukaku, his Sharingan eyes narrowed as he spotted Gaara on top of the demon's forehead, "Got it!" Sasuke exclaimed as his Chidori got brighter once more and he lead with his black gauntlet.

"SUSANO'O: HALO FLAME DRILL!" Naruto shouted as his drill was surrounded by rings of fire and he thrust it at Shukaku's chest.

The Demon's eyes widened as it focussed on the attack, blocking the technique with it's arms as parts of it began to get torn off and destroyed by the attack.

Sasuke smirked as he saw his chance and the eyes on his black gauntlet lit up, "CHIDORI BULLET!" Sasuke shouted as he shot through the air.

Shukaku looked up at his shout and gritted his teeth in concentration as sand began to whirl up around Gaara, slowing down Sasuke's jutsu as he cut through the sand on his way to Gaara before suddenly, the sand shifted and diverted his attack with the last of the shield protecting Gaara, Sasuke went to attack him only for the sand to wrap around his arms and legs and hold him up.

Naruto gritted his teeth as his Susano'o's ribcage opened up once more, launching not only another Tsukumo attack, but this time Naruto along with them as he soared up towards Shukaku's face.

Naruto's red chakra swirled around his fist before he uppercut the massive demon with his Herculean strength, making it stumble in shock as the drill hit his torso, the needles hit his arms and chest and Naruto Shunshinned above his head, "Sasuke! Fire Shield!" Naruto shouted as his Susano'o remained still since he no longer was controlling it.

Sasuke closed his eyes and moved his fire chakra over his body to stop him from taking any damage from the heat or flames. His Sharingan snapped open as he was ready.

Naruto finished his hand seals, using the jutsu that Sasuke had taught him, "UCHIHA FIRE STYLE: GRAND FIREBALL JUTSU!" Naruto shouted as he blasted Gaara's shell and the sand around Sasuke.

Sasuke fell to his knees as he tore his arms free, looking up at Naruto as he landed on the other side of Gaara, Sasuke punched forward once more, "BULLET PUNCH!" Sasuke shouted as he flashed forward at Gaara and punched his stomach.

Gaara's eye snapped open as he gasped for air.

"**NO! I just got here!" **The Shukaku screamed as it lost the glow in it's eyes and the sand structure began to fall apart.

Naruto appeared behind Gaara in a shunshin as the redhead grabbed Sasuke with his sand, his hands glowing green as he slammed a palm into the back of Gaara's head, disconnecting his conscious mind from his chakra.

Naruto fell to his knees as he caught Gaara, the red head's expression fearful and exhausted as he suddenly lost all of his energy and stared up at Naruto weakly. But then Sasuke grabbed the two of them and threw them up into the air, "Naruto! Summon!" Sasuke shouted as he jumped after them.

Naruto smirked as he formed hand seals, his Curse Mark receding as two different Pegasi appeared in plumes of smoke. Kaze caught Naruto as he flew down through the air to see if Hinata was free yet as Sasuke leapt up and caught Gaara, landing on the other pegasus with a grunt before it flew them both after Kaze and Naruto.

Naruto landed from Kaze with a slide, his Pegasus trotting to a stop as it watched him dig through the sand desperately before he found a hand, "Hinata-chan!" Naruto exclaimed as he pulled her out.

Hinata coughed and gasped for air as Naruto sat back and formed hand seals, instantly putting one of his hands on her clearly damaged arm, "N-Nii-kun?" she asked before weakly spitting out a mouthful of sand and blood.

Naruto smiled at her, his Mangekyou finally fading back to his normal Uzugan as his Medical Ninjutsu healed all of the scrapes and bruises on her torso, "You'll be fine Hinata." Naruto said as he turned to look behind him as Sasuke landed atop the fake-looking odd blue pegasus with a mane of rainbow, causing Naruto to smirk as he recognised it from the Summoned realm.

Sasuke hopped to the ground, a confident smirk on his face as his Sharingan glowed red and his Curse Seal pulsed across his skin, "What now?" he asked, hoping for a challenge of some kind.

Naruto smiled peacefully, "If you feel like it, double back and assist the others, but bring all of the living Shinobi our side have captured back here. Also have a summons bring back any of ours that are heavily injured." Naruto said.

Sasuke nodded and turned back to look at Gaara's weak form atop the rainbow-mained pegasus, "You stay down or else." Sasuke threatened before he turned and was about to dash off.

"Wait Sasuke!" Naruto began, "Use the Curse Seal to Summon some tigers so the chakra isn't wasted and then deactivate it. We still don't know everything about them remember?"

Sasuke nodded and formed hand seals as he ran off.

Naruto turned back to Hinata as he lifted her up bridal style and set her softly on Kaze's saddle, "Just hold tight Hinata-chan, I'll get everyone ready to move and then..." Naruto paused as he noticed both of the pegasi's ears twitch.

Naruto turned and his eyes narrowed as Temari dove at him from the trees above, shouting in effort as she realised she was already spotted, she raised a kunai, "Get away from my brother! WIND STYLE: WIND BLADE!" she shouted as the last of her chakra wrapped around her kunai and turned it into a sword length chakra sword.

Naruto's eyes span as he saw the chakra enhancing the blade. He stepped between Temari and Hinata to meet her attack, using one chakra scalpel to block her move so he could grab her wrist, "Stop this! It's over!" Naruto exclaimed as he shoved her back.

Temari grunted from his powerful shove before lifting her weapon again, "Never! Just let my brother go!" she shouted as she ran at him again.

Naruto sighed as he battered her attack aside with his chakra scalpel and whistled, "Then I'm sorry about this." he said as she began to run at him again.

Just as Temari swung and Naruto once more easily blocked the strike, Kaze kicked out with her hind legs and hit Temari in the shoulder and chest, knocking the air out of her while dislocating her shoulder.

Temari dropped the kunai that Naruto kicked away to lodge into a tree before Naruto knelt forward and caught her, "Now listen, I'm going to heal you and tie you to your brother, if you're quiet and obedient neither of you will be harmed further, I can guarantee that." Naruto promised as he proceeded to do so.

Temari was quiet as she appeared to trust his words, letting him pop her shoulder back in to place almost painlessly before he put her behind Gaara and had her hold him up. Naruto then tied their legs together and underneath the blue Pegasus' stomach to make sure they stayed on.

As Naruto finished doing this, he pat both Temari and Gaara on the shoulders and smiled as they tiredly looked at him, "Cool, just chill here and we're all good... say, didn't you have a fan?" Naruto asked politely as he moved over to Hinata and begun healing her again, making the barely conscious girl smile at him.

Temari nodded and glanced over to the direction she had come from, "She disarmed me before..."

"Relax, we got it."

Everyone looked over as Shikamaru lead the group of Shino, Sasuke, two tigers and the unconscious Kankuro. Shikamaru held up the clearly broken fan, "Sasuke took us on a detour on the way back," he explained as he turned to Naruto, "I sent your clone back to the village to act as a medic for others. That ok?" Shikamaru asked.

Naruto nodded as he and Sasuke tied Kankuro behind Temari before Sasuke hopped on Kuro and Shikamaru hopped onto Koru while Shino's wings materialised once more.

Naruto hopped on to Kaze behind Hinata, he gripped Kaze's mane with one hand as the other hand went to Hinata's stomach as it glowed green, holding her safely while healing her as Kaze's wings spread wide, "Let's go!" Naruto exclaimed before the Pegasi took off into the sky with Shino and the Tigers dashed into the forest.

##########

The war ended quickly after that.

Upon seeing the Ichibi defeated outside of the village, the vast majority of the Sand Shinobi quickly gave up and surrendered. Those who didn't ran to the arena to join the Kazekage, only to find that Jiraiya had managed to seal the man's Gold Dust into a Storage Seal before landing a Rasengan to his back, defeating him and knocking him out before the Sannin helped his previous team-mate Tsunade finish off her uncle Tobirama Senju.

After a few minutes Jiraiya managed to force the Master Shinobi into a position where Tsunade landed a punch to the man's stomach and launch him into the burning seal-wall Orochimaru's ninja had made, reducing the body to ash as Tsunade and Jiraiya ran to aid their Sensei.

When they joined up with him, he had just made two Shadow Clones that charged Orochimaru before Jiraiya and Tsunade landed behind Sarutobi, "Let's take him down Sensei!" Jiraiya exclaimed as he stepped forward in a familiar fashion reminiscent of the first time he learned to use a Toad Jutsu.

Tsunade stepped forward and formed hand seals for a Leaf Village Standard – the Fire Ball Jutsu – while smirking at her Sensei.

Sarutobi smiled in confidence as he formed hand seals for the technique he had taught Orochimaru, "Triple combination!" Hiruzen exclaimed.

"NINJA ART: TOAD OIL BULLET!" Jiraiya exclaimed as he spat out a ball of oil.

"WIND STYLE: GREAT BREAKTHROUGH!" Hiruzen exclaimed as his technique spread the aerated oil through the air.

"FIRE STYLE: FIRE BALL JUTSU!" Tsunade shouted, igniting the massive technique that sent a wave of flames towards Orochimaru.

The man gritted his teeth in anger as he slammed his hands on the ground, "SUMMONING: RASHOMON!" Orochimaru shouted as he brought up the Demon Gate to block the attack.

Tsunade hopped up as Sarutobi re-summoned his staff to his hands – The Monkey King Enma transformed into the unbreakable weapon – letting her land on it feet first as he swung it through the air, launching her forward through the air like a missile as the flames began to die down and she punched the Gate, making it bend under her power before she kicked the door again, making it actually bend open before she leapt back.

Jiraiya ran underneath her, a ball of swirling chakra in his hand that he slammed into the heavily damaged gate, "RASENGAN!" Jiraiya shouted as the jutsu burst the gate open completely.

Orochimaru's eyes widened as he hesitated in his hand seals, seeing Hiruzen's bo staff extend through the smoke and appear only a meter or so before it hit Orochimaru's chest.

Orochimaru pushed off the pole before leaping up and finishing his hand seals just as Tsunade appeared in front of him with her fist pulled back, he opened his mouth and his sword appeared and plunged through her shoulder, stopping her punch and managing to throw her away.

The Snake Sannin landed and clapped his hands as he finally used the jutsu, "EARTH STYLE: EARTH DRAGON JUTSU!" he shouted and parts of the roof ripped up and launched towards the approaching Hiruzen.

Hiruzen flashed through hand seals, "FIRE STYLE: DRAGON FLAME BOMB!" he exclaimed as his jutsu made Orochimaru's explode.

Jiraiya caught Tsunade and threw her back towards the Hokage before he charged at his traitorous ex-teammate, though as the two engaged in Taijutsu, Jiraiya's hair suddenly extended to stab into Orochimaru's arm, doing major damage to the forearm before Orochimaru's fangs sunk into Jiraiya's neck.

**POOF**

The real Jiraiya appeared from the smoke of his Shadow Clone, slamming another Rasengan into Orochimaru and this time, directly into his face.

Orochimaru's extended neck flailed around as it flung back, making his body fling overhead as Hiruzen had Tsunade launch him towards Orochimaru's body with her good arm. Hiruzen formed hand seals as he grabbed Orochimaru, "LIGHTNING STYLE: DOUBLE PARALYSIS JUTSU!" Hiruzen shouted.

Jiraiya, Tsunade and Orochimaru's eyes widened as suddenly, both Hiruzen and Orochimaru were paralysed by electricity as they fell through the air towards the seal-wall.

""AAAHHHH!"" Hiruzen and Orochimaru shouted as Hiruzen's arms up to the elbow were turned to ash along with Orochimaru's arms up to the biceps, legs up to the waist and left side of his face burned to a crisp.

In an instant, the seal-wall was dropped and the Sound Four grabbed Orochimaru and leapt away. Tsunade was instantly by Hiruzen's side healing him while Jiraiya and a few watching ANBU leapt after them, only for one of the Sound Four to split into two people while the one with six arms, turned to face everyone, "SPIDER ART: SPIDER-WEB NET!"

The ANBU were caught in the net as Jiraiya's hair reached out in chakra spikes, cutting the webbing around him as his continued after his traitorous team-mate.

The Sound Four and Orochimaru landed on a rooftop, as the two ninja that had been one slammed their hands on the ground, summoning a small version of the Rashomon Gate that opened for them to head through the dark portal inside.

Jiraiya landed and leapt forward, "Damn you!" he shouted as he thrust his Rasengan at the Gate. But the moment it slammed shut, it repelled his attack before disappearing with a plume of smoke, making the Sannin grit his teeth and turn to the ANBU as the Spider Web was finally handled by their chakra-blades, "Find and take down all Sound Ninja! Now! We end this!"

##########

Less then an hour later, the battle was over.

The moment the Kazekage was 'unconscious' and Orochimaru was gone, almost all of the fighting stopped, with only a few high powered Jonin from their respective villages leading one final attack towards the Hokage's tower.

Big mistake.

Since many of the civilians were evacuated and the rest were protected, it was little effort on the ANBU's part to use multiple fire style techniques to create a tornado that sucked them all up and burned them to a crisp before it rose in the air to disperse far above the village.

The only downside to this; was that clouds began to form quickly after that.

By the end of the day the Shinobi of the Leaf had sent the Sand Shinobi back to their village while keeping the Kazekage sealed in the hospital prisoner ward. All Sound Shinobi had been sentenced to jail, leaving nothing but a team of three gennin and one Jonin to face the council of the Hidden Leaf village.

##########

_Konoha's Council of Elders_

##########

"Welcome everyone, I thank you all for being here!" Hiruzen said loudly in a tone that made the room of 48 council members and 10 guests became silent, "Firstly, I would like to congratulate and thank all of you for your actions during the invasion. Secondly, I-"

"Hold on Hiruzen," one of the Council Advisors said as he turned to look up at the Hokage, "I believe the Second matter should be on who the new Hokage will be since you are obviously less able bodied then any other candidates."

Hiruzen smirked slightly as he nodded, "Indeed, I agree with your assessment Danzo, which is why I ask Tsunade Senju to rise." he said as he looked to the Senju Clan Head.

Tsunade smirked as she stood, knowing already what he wanted since they had discussed it beforehand, "I Tsunade Senju, hereby request to be acknowledged as your successor should the need arise."

"Acknowledged. Tsunade, you shall be named the Fifth Hokage upon my retirement or death." Hiruzen said with a smile.

There was a moment's silence before everyone realised what had just happened and most of the council began clapping and congratulating Tsunade at the news, causing the one named Danzo and Hiruzen's other two advisors to sit in silence at the announcement.

"Since she needs to learn to understand the role of Hokage," Hiruzen began again, "I will be asking her to replace Koharu."

The older woman appeared shocked at the announcement, but rose to her feet and stood to the back of the hall as Tsunade came and took her new seat.

"Next," Hiruzen began as he looked down at the sheet in front of him, his arms still lowered to his lap underneath the table, "Is those who I think is ready for promotion to Chunnin. And almost all of these select Shinobi were agreed upon by either the Kazekage, Otokage, or both, with only one exception to the rule. It is the boy who managed to find a way around his weakness and become the powerhouse we of the Leaf need to keep inspiring and growing; Rock Lee of Konoha!"

Rock Lee's eyes widened as he stood with the other nine guests, he jumped to his feet before bowing to the Hokage, "Thank you Hokage-sama!" Rock Lee shouted before straitening up.

The Hokage turned and nodded to Tsunade as the woman revealed a Storage Scroll.

**POOF**

Six Chunnin vests appeared spread across the advisor's table as Tsunade threw one to Lee that the boy caught and put on with a grin that sparkled, though before he could speak up, the Hokage spoke again, "Now, the reason we've gone first with yours Lee, is that there is a special condition to your promotion. Since you are restricted to Taijutsu and Ninja Tools, we'd like you to try and master a specific tool we have which should help you against most – if not all – Ninjutsu you confront." Hiruzen said before looking over to a civilian council member.

The person stood and bowed before revealing a Storage Seal on his ribcage, "I've kept it safe like you asked Hokage-sama." the civilian said as he held his shirt up.

An ANBU member appeared a pressed his hand against the seal.

**POOF**

Turning to Lee, the ANBU showed the weapon to the boy as the Hokage explained, "The Second Hokage created many weapons and Ninjutsu, though there were more that he encountered and didn't understand. And though he never found a way to get past this shield, he did manage to put down the ninja using it and take it for the leaf village, this, is a Vibranium Shield."

Lee put the circular shield on his forearm, feeling that it was surprisingly light, he strapped his arm in before saluting with his other arm, "Thank you Hokage-sama!"

The Hokage nodded, "Your welcome Lee, now, would the following five people step forward; Shino Aburame, Shikamaru Naara, Naruto Senju, Sasuke Uchiha and Hinata of the Leaf."

The five stepped forward in line, Shino and Shikamaru showing minimal emotion while Naruto and Hinata stood with pride.

"Each of you fought valiantly not only during the Chunnin exams, but also during the invasion, no matter the enemy you faced, you persevered in the most amazing ways. Shino, you've managed to take one of the village's most unstable and unknown jutsu and master it to impossible levels. Then using these skills you managed to capture one of our three major targets in the invasion. Thank you for your service, Chunnin Shino Aburame!"

Shino stepped forward and bowed to the Hokage as his own father came down from his place in the council member area to give him the vest, "Congratulations son." Shibi mumbled.

Shino nodded as he put on the vest, "Thank you father," he began before turning to the Hokage, "Thank you Hokage-sama."

Hiruzen nodded to the boy as he and his father returned to their original places, "Next up; Shikamaru Naara, you managed to formulate a plan to hold of a handful of _Jonin. _If this isn't enough to prove that you're ready for the promotion to Chunnin, then I don't know what is. We thank you in your service and reward you with this promotion!" he exclaimed as Shikamaru stepped forward.

Shikamaru sighed and bowed respectfully, "No problem, do I have to wait for the rest of them?" he asked with a nod towards the others waiting for the promotion.

Hiruzen frowned as Shikaku gave his son the Chunnin vest, "Yes, you do. And be grateful, it's an honour to receive this promotion." Shikaku mumbled as he nudged Shikamaru.

Shikamaru sighed and went back to his seat as Hiruzen cleared his throat, "Anyway… next up, the three members of Team 7 – the team that took down the Ichibi demon Shukaku – Sasuke, Naruto and Hinata."

Sasuke, Naruto and Hinata stepped forward, all three of them smiling as Tsunade passed the three remaining vests to Kakashi, the Jonin stepping up to his students with an eye smile, "Congratulations you three."

Hinata retrieved her's first and stood proudly, smiling up at Tsunade and Kakashi while off to the side, Hiashi seemed to be watching the entire situation with regret. She took off her trench coat from Anko and put the vest on, leaving it undone as she put her cloak back on over it.

Naruto – who had left his Senju Cloak hanging over the chair he had been sitting in – put the vest on and left it undone, he immediately bowed to Kakashi before he turned to the Hokage's section with his mother, the old man Hokage and even Jiraiya in it before bowing once more.

Sasuke nodded in thanks to Kakashi as he put on the vest and zipped it up properly, adjusting his shirt's collar underneath it before he bowed to the Hokage.

Hiruzen watched the whole situation with a smile on his face as the three of them stood at attention, "From now on, your team will function without Kakashi as your team's sensei. He will still teach you while you're in-village, but unless you're sent on an A-rank or higher mission, he won't be accompanying you." Hiruzen explained.

The trio nodded, accepting the new roles as they moved back to Shino, Shikamaru and Lee.

"Alright, newly appointed Konoha Chunnin, once again, congratulations, and thank you for coming. Please let yourselves out, there will be some specific individuals waiting for each of you." Hiruzen said with a smile towards the new Chunnin.

##########

CHAPTER END!

there you go everyone! Please keep reading and keep reviewing!

Fyi my other stories are back in the works too if ya'll are interested :)

Love ya and leave ya, Alky out!


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter Twenty-Two: No Jonin on B-ranks

"Naruto-chan!"

Naruto's eye snapped open as he hopped out of bed, kicking open his door and taking a stance as Cerberus growled from his place standing between Naruto's legs. Though it only took a second for the two of them to calm down as they noticed Tsunade standing in the living room with a smirk.

Naruto rubbed his eyes as he walked forward and sat down while his dog walked back to his bed to go to sleep again, "Kaa-san? What's up?" he asked with a yawn as he sat in one of the living room chairs.

Tsunade walked over and sat on the other couch, placing a blue scroll in front of Naruto, "I'm hiring you as part of a five man team that will escort me for an extended mission around the elemental nations to settle some debts for myself and the village as well as deliver a few messages to certain high ranking members of the elemental nations." she said.

Naruto blinked at her and grinned, "Cool! Can I pick the team?" Naruto asked.

Tsunade shook her head, "Sorry Naruto, but I've already chosen the people I'm interested in taking with me." she said as she stood, "We're leaving in a week, so if there's any last minute training you want done then do so, and don't worry to much, this'll be fun!" Tsunade said with a grin as she left.

Naruto shrugged as he unrolled the scroll across the table while making a Shadow Clone to go get his clothes ready for the day, 'Hmm… what an odd team, I wonder why Kaa-san picked us.' he thought as he curiously began to read over the details.

##########

"Are you really sure you want me on this Tsunade-sama?"

Tsunade smiled at the injured Chunnin, "Yes Iruka, I know you have a connection with each of these kids, and your own grasp of understanding elemental chakra is unparalleled according to Sarutobi-sensei."

Iruka smiled and nodded, "Hai Tsunade-sama, I will be healed in the next few days and be ready by next week."

Tsunade smiled and formed two hand seals as her palms glowed green, "Let's get you ready to leave today." she said with a grin.

##########

""R-Really?!""

Tsunade smiled at the two girls in front of her, "Yes really, Tenten, Ino, I've chosen you two for a reason. I learned that you both have surprisingly high affinities towards your element even though you've never trained the skill up. So, over these next six months other then the obvious parts of the mission, I'm going to be training you in something special." she said with a smirk.

#########

Naruto sat meditating in the middle of Team 7's old training ground. His Chunnin vest had replaced his Senju cloak sitting over his singlet, but now he wore a patch on his pant-leg that was the Senju Clan symbol. His Senju Armoury Scroll sat behind him, still strapped in place perfectly across his lower back and allowing Naruto to lean back against it.

Naruto's eyes snapped open as his whole body was enveloped in Fire Chakra that he made into a tight shell over both himself, his clothes and the scroll on his back.

Three Shadow Clones formed hand seals before they raised their hands in different positions.

"FIRE STYLE: FIRE BALL JUTSU!"

"FIRE STYLE: HALO FLAME!"

"PEGASUS ART: RISING WIND WHIRL!"

Naruto took a calming breath as a weak whirlwind formed around him, the jutsu not doing much except for the small gust as well as chakra enhancement properties to any other jutsu inside the whirl, such as the two oncoming flame attacks.

**BOOOOOOM**

Naruto felt the fire dance across his skin, it was making him sweat and become very warm, but not a spark nor singe stuck to him as the fire danced around him. After a few moments of being in the middle of the flaming death whirl, Naruto stood calmly as he took a wide stance and held his arms out in concentration.

The flaming whirlwind slowed and slowed, getting smaller and weaker until it was nothing more then a small fire in a ring around Naruto. The blonde boy's wide stance pivoted on one foot to let him turn with the flame, lifting it up into the air before it maintained the ring in the air around him and he threw it up into the air, emulating his Halo Blast technique.

"Your control truly is incredible Naruto, but how come you're training out here by yourself?"

Naruto turned to look at Kakashi and grinned as he bowed, waving his arms in a circle around him to draw the stray flames closer and closer, "I'm practising on a little skill I've picked up," Naruto said as his grin grew and he drew his arms above his head, "Ever since I got these eyes my chakra control for fire was through the roof. Though honestly, I think Shisui's affinity with fire somehow made a connection with the perfect chakra control that Kaa-san taught me throughout my life."

Kakashi blinked in amazement as the flames followed Naruto's gestures like they were under the control of some sort of advanced jutsu, and yet the chakra that Kakashi could sense coming from Naruto was minimal, though perfectly controlled.

The fire spiralled above Naruto's head before he brought it down around him and thrust forward with a right straight punch.

Kakashi's head snapped to the air as the fire shot ahead following Naruto's punch, almost as if… he was _bending_ the fire with his will and chakra alone, 'Just like the Second Hokage with Water Chakra…' Kakashi thought before his eyes widened in realisation, 'Now I get it! Tsunade's building a team of benders!' he thought.

##########

_Three days later_

##########

Naruto, Hinata and Sasuke sat at the Uchiha's favourite restaurant, an Akimichi BBQ near the Uchiha district.

Sasuke was doing his usual thing now – munching out slowly on whichever food he had ordered – as his Sharingan eyes took in the restaurant. He was happy that his team wanted to take him out for lunch, though they obviously felt they owed him something since they turned up at his door and offered to take him out.

Sasuke refocussed on his two team-mates. The two of them sat opposite him at their table in the corner. Sasuke's eyes swirled behind his shades, seeing a slight blush on Hinata's cheeks and Naruto was twiddling his fingers just like Tsunade did when she was putting off something, 'What made these two so nervous about this? It's like they're ashamed of something...'

"So," Naruto said as he lifted the dessert menu to take a look at, "What'll we be having? Desserts on me!" Naruto said with an overly energetic grin on his face.

Hinata instantly buried her face in Naruto's menu, basically hiding behind in the thing as best she could and making Sasuke sigh, "Look, you obviously have something to tell me, so why don't you two come out with it?" he asked as he waited for a reaction.

Hinata stayed behind her menu, though the small parts of her face that he could see were flushed bright red. Naruto sighed and lowered the menu, his Uzugan watching Sasuke's face for a reaction to his next words, "Well, you know how back before the Chunnin exams, you and Hinata kind of.. almost started dating-ish?"

Sasuke shrugged and looked to the embarrassed Hinata with a calm smile, "I always thought that we had been dating, it was fun and I don't regret it but..." he said with an apologetic look towards Hinata, "It just didn't work out, why do you bring that up? Did I do something that I didn't notice?" he asked as he tried to think of anything he might have missed.

Hinata shook her head as she took a deep breath, gaining the attention of the other two and beginning to speak, "Well Sasuke-kun, the thing is… even though the setup between Nii-kun and myself is that similar to a sibling thing… you have to remember it's definitely not. So umm, yeah..."

Sasuke raised a brow, "Ok...?" he mumbled, looking at Naruto for an explanation even though the blonde Chunnin just barely managed to smile awkwardly at his friend.

"U-Umm," Hinata began again, "You see, with everything we went through, Nii-kun was there to pick us both back up right? Every time there was a problem he helped and whenever I returned home, he was the person I could talk to, so… he became the one I confided in and when you and I ended things…"

Sasuke's brows rose as what she was saying clicked into place, making him instantly understand before he lowered his glasses at them and shook his head, "You two…. This is probably a mistake y'know. If other people who didn't get your relationship already knew about this, they'd probably be creeped out…. Luckily I already knew you two were crazy." Sasuke said with a chuckle.

Naruto blinked at Sasuke as he watched the Uchiha re-analyze both Naruto and Hinata, "So… you don't mind that we're together?" Naruto asked softly.

Sasuke shrugged, "Not really, it doesn't change the team dynamic that much and honestly… now it's easier to hang out with my two best friends at the same time." he said before glancing around the shop, "But seriously though, I think you two should keep quiet about it."

Hinata nodded and basically leapt across the table to hug Sasuke, "Hai Sasuke-kun! thankyou thankyou thankyou!" Hinata shouted in excitement.

Naruto laughed as Sasuke gasped for air under her sudden embrace around his neck, making the two of them actually fall from Sasuke's seat to the ground much to the shock of other customers and staff nearby, 'Good thing he accepted us… but I guess it would cause a stir if Hinata and I were open about this… maybe when we're a bit older we'll share the news with others.'

##########

Hiruzen stood with his damaged arms folded underneath his Hokage robes, watching with a calm smile as he sent Tsunade on her last mission before becoming the true Hokage for the Leaf village, 'This is it, my last real act as Hokage.' Hiruzen thought with a calm smile as he looked up at the rising sun beyond the gates of the village.

At the sound of footsteps, Hiruzen turned along with his two ANBU guards to see Tsunade and Naruto marching calmly towards them, "Good morning Tsunade, Naruto." he said wit a smile.

Naruto jogged ahead to him as Tsunade shouted out, "Morning sensei!"

"Hokage-Jiji!" Naruto began as he got close, "Kaa-san won't tell me where it is we have to go for this mission! Can you tell me at least our first checkpoint?" Naruto asked.

Hiruzen chuckled at Naruto as Tsunade stopped next to them, though right at that moment, the group became aware of three more people jogging towards them, one Chunnin in the lead with two female gennin following after him.

"Hokage-sama! Tsunade-sama!" Iruka announced before bowing to them upon his arrival, "Ready for the mission!"

Tsunade nodded, "Alright then, when we get to the Hidden Sand Village you're going to join up with Jiraiya, got it?"

Iruka nodded, "Yes ma'am."

Ino and Tenten smiled at Naruto as the boy grinned at them, "Hey guys, do you know what the deal is with this mission?" Naruto said.

Tenten nodded, "Yeah, Tsunade-sama had us begin preparations a few days ago so that we can do some Elemental Chakra Training. But, do you know where we're going?" she asked.

"I guess I'll explain now," Tsunade said, gaining the attention of everyone in the group as she took out three scrolls, "Firstly, this team will be heading to the Land of Wind to finalise the new treaty between the Leaf village and the Sand village. While I get you started on your training for the time that we have there. After that, we'll be embarking on our second mission; to re-establish contact with the Land of Snow. We're not entirely sure what this mission will need but Sensei thinks I should be able to handle anything that comes up. And the third mission, will be what all of your training along the previous two missions is for; to deliver a message to the head of the Rebels in the Land of Water."

Naruto nodded with a serious frown on his face, "So… the Hidden Leaf has finally chosen a side in the skirmish for control over the Land of Water then?"

Hiruzen nodded, "Yes, we will help dismantle the current system and help the new system settle. Though I may end up sending you on another diplomatic mission beforehand depending on the timing of some other factors. But enough of that… your first mission awaits, and I want word from you Tsunade at the end of each mission. Remember, less then a month for each one. Got it?"

Tsunade rolled her eyes, "Yeah yeah Sensei, no worries, I'll remember."

Naruto turned and looked into the distance, seeing a small trail of smoke popping up from a tree in the distance and feeling a familiar gaze on him. Naruto smirked, "Later Sasuke, Hinata-chan… you two be strong while I'm gone okay? I can't heal you guys if I'm not around." he said softly.

##########

Sasuke's Sharingan let him lip-read Naruto from his place in the tree, he finished reciting what Naruto was saying before smirking, "Well, he's not wrong." Sasuke said with a chuckle as he smoked.

Hinata sighed as her Byakugan let her see him turn his back to the group and wink in her general direction. She smiled at his actions as he turned and the group began to leave on their mission, 'Good luck Nii-kun.' she thought peacefully.

##########

_Five hours later_

##########

"A mission you say? Very well, I shall accept." Shino said as he readjusted his glasses.

Rock Lee gave a thumbs up as his teeth shined, "I accept too Hokage-sama! This certainly seems like a most youthful mission!"

Sasuke and Hinata shared a glance before smirking in unison, "We're in Hokage-sama!" Hinata said with a cheerful smile.

The Hokage nodded before nodding to the scroll on his desk, prompting Sasuke to pick it up, "Sasuke and Hinata will co-captain on this mission to the Land of Tea. I wish you luck with the race."

##########

"Wow, I've never been this far before." Ino said as the group stopped for lunch at the border of the desert of the Land of Wind.

Tenten frowned as she looked at the sandy expanse, "I don't like it out here. The two times I've been out here the natural sand molecules in the air mess with my precision."

The two girls felt a matching set of hands clasp on their shoulders, causing them to turn and look up at Iruka, "Be good you two, and make sure you listen to Tsunade-sama," Iruka said as he tightened his backpack, "I'll hopefully see you before we all split up from the Sand." he said before dashing into the desert.

""By Iruka-Sensei!"" the two girls shouted in unison.

"Alright you two, come sit down!"

The two Gennin turned to Tsunade and Naruto as the boy began to take out some pre-packed bento boxes for each of them. Ino and Tenten jogged over and took a seat as Tsunade put three scrolls between the four of them and unrolled the first, light brown coloured scroll.

"Eat up while I explain alright guys?" Tsunade said as she pointed to the first scroll, "This scroll is our first mission to the sand along with the skills each of you will learn during our few weeks here," Tsunade said as she unrolled the scroll until they all could see three storage seals. Tsunade placed her hand on the first seal.

**POOF**

Tsunade gave one of each unsealed scroll to Naruto, Ino and Tenten, "These are Forbidden techniques of the village, from the time before we were gifted with chakra to use. You see before that, there were elemental benders. It's very rare now for someone to tilt their chakra enough to gain a bender's level of control over an element, but once it's done, you guys will be unopposed against anyone below A-rank level instantly. And if I'm right, together, you will be unstoppable."

Ino was the first to unroll her's, "Water Manipulation, Advanced Stage…. Written by Tobirama Senju?!" Ino gasped in shock before looking to Tsunade for answers.

The woman chuckled, "My Uncle was the last man known to have gained that much control over water. So I thought you could learn from him."

Tenten smirked as she picked up her scroll, "So mine is probably Earth right?" she asked as she unrolled the first portion, "Umm… this has Iwagakure's village symbol on it..." she mumbled.

Tsunade grinned, "Yep! Good thing I won that one, it was very hard to come by something that expensive or rare but thanks to a certain Fence-Sitting geezer who always folds at the first sign of difficulty, it's now a scroll for you to study from."

Naruto grinned in a way much like his mother, though as he lifted his scroll, he noticed something that made him raise a brow, "Kaa-san, this is a Fire scroll. Shouldn't I have Wind since I'm naturally aligned to it?" he asked.

Tsunade smirked at that, "Well, there're three reasons I've got you on Fire. Firstly; you are already only two steps from being a Fire Bender, secondly, thanks to your natural Wind alignment, you might just be able to learn the more advanced forms of ancient Firebending."

Naruto blinked as he waited expectantly, "And the third thing….?" he mumbled after a moment.

Tsunade smiled and put her hand on the second seal, "The Third thing is that if all goes well in the Land of Wind, then we might have a Wind User joining us to master Airbending.

Naruto, Tenten and Ino all raised their brows in unison, "Who?" Ino asked.

##########

Temari yawned as she walked into her bedroom, her door closing in Kankuro's face before he could nag her for something.

Flopping on her bed, Temari looked over at her almost destroyed War Fan, 'That cost thousands to repair last time and last time it only needed some touch-ups. If I ever want to use it again I'll have to save or go on some long term mission ASAP…. Though maybe it's time for me to widen my Shinobi repertoire a little outside of just the War Fan…' she pondered silently as she looked out her window.

Suddenly, her ears felt hot and she sneezed, making her pause in contemplation, 'Is someone talking about me?'

##########

"Let's move out!" Hinata declared as she pointed down the western road.

Sasuke lit up a joint as he came to her side, "We still have to wait for Shino and Lee y'know..." he mumbled.

Hinata raised a brow, "Shino is right there," she said as she pointed above them, making Sasuke look up as Shino casually hovered in the air above Hinata, nothing on him looking different except for the collar of the Chunnin vest which was barely visible underneath his jacket, "And Lee is on his way!"

Sasuke glanced around before shrugging, "Point is, he's not-"

**ZOOM**

"EXCUSE ME FOR MY TARDINESS TAICHO-KUN AND TAICHO-CHAN!" Lee shouted upon arrival, his shield now resting in place on the back of his new Chunnin vest.

Sasuke cleaned out his ear and used some fire chakra to even out the side-burning on his smoke, "Never mind." Sasuke mumbled before turning to the group, "Alright, listen up, Hinata decided that since whoever the racer is they're going to be a civilian, so once we make contact, I want Lee on our client at all times. In the meantime, we'll take an Aerial Pyramid Formation."

"Aerial Pyramid Formation?" Lee asked while Shino raised a brow in interest.

Hinata nodded, "I'll take front point, Sasuke take back left, Lee take back right, and Shino will be above the tree-line in formation with us. That way my eyes can see anything getting close to us and Shino can see any potential disasters on the horizon." Hinata explained.

Shino nodded and floated into position thanks to his fast beating wings, "Understood."

Lee gave a thumbs up as he got into position, "Hai Taicho!"

Sasuke and Hinata smirked at each other before Hinata stepped to the front, "Alright, NOW we can move out!"

##########

_Three hours later_

##########

"There it is, the great Hidden Sand Village." Tsunade said with a smile as the group of four came to the top of a sand dune.

"Not very well hidden is it..." Ino mumbled.

Tsunade frowned, "It's the same colour as the massive desert around it, it's almost impossible to find unless you already know the way."

"I guess… but it kinda stands out, I mean," Tenten seemed thoughtful for a moment, "If someone was like, elevated just enough to be higher then these dunes and they had a telescope they could spot it miles away. It's like a giant sand castle on the beach."

Tsunade face-palmed, "The point is!" she began, regaining the attention of her three charges, "We've made it! Now let's run!" she said before leaping off with her Herculean Strength.

Naruto smirked and leapt after her, "Keep up girls!" Naruto said with a laugh as the other two sprinted after them.

Arriving at the large wall, Tsunade pulsed her chakra and instantly, the four of them had an ANBU standing before them, "Good afternoon, I'm Tsunade and I have a message from the Hokage of he Leaf." she said.

The ANBU nodded, "We received word of your arrival this morning. Please come in, I will escort you to the Kage tower." he said before forming a basic ram seal.

The three younger ninjas looked up in awe as part of the wall separated to make a long hallway, causing their eyes to widen as they realised how thick and tall the walls actually were. The group moved through the village, gaining fearful looks from the civilians and respectful or apologetic looks from the shinobi.

"What's up with them?" Tenten asked as a family moved into their house fearfully and a random shinobi bowed to them.

Naruto chuckled, "Remember we were just at war with these guys. The civilians are probably scared we'll go after revenge while the shinobi understand that the war is over and that our side won."

"Chunnin Uzumaki-sama!"

The group paused as Naruto turned to a young girl wearing what looked like a dress-up version of a real shinobi outfit, "Umm, yeah?"

The girl smiled up at him with stars in her eyes, "Is it true that you lead a team of Gennin that took down the Ichibi?"

Naruto nodded slowly, "Yeah… I guess you could say I did. Why?"

The little girl took out something from behind her back, giving Naruto a small cactus plant before bowing, "Thank you for ending the war and saving all of us!" she said before dashing off in embarrassment.

Naruto smiled, looking at the pot plant in his hand before turning to follow after the team that had nearly left him behind.

"Look at you! Reeling in the ladies!" Ino said as a joke.

Naruto's mind flashed back to Hinata, making him let off a peaceful smile as he looked up at the blue sky, "Sure Ino-chan, I'm a total catch." he said sarcastically before moving ahead after Tsunade and the ANBU.

Ino pouted since she couldn't get a rise out of Naruto, but Tenten's words easily distracted her, "Damn right he's a catch. If he showed any interest in me I'd be on him like that." Tenten said as she clicked her fingers.

Ino's jaw dropped as she turned to Tenten, "Are you serious?!" she exclaimed.

Tenten shrugged, "Hey, I've seen the man handle over three hundred different weapons and form hand seals with more flow and skill then any other guy our age… if a strong, proud shinobi isn't your type then shoo, I'll have him." she said with a grin as she walked ahead.

Ino stared after Tenten for a moment before her mind clicked as she checked out Naruto while he marched ahead. Ino shook her head as soon as she realised what Tenten's words had her doing, "Tenten!" she exclaimed in shock as she ran to catch up.

##########

"I see the coast." Shino mumbled.

Even though the others on the ground couldn't hear him, Hinata's eyes picked up his words, "We're getting close to the coast!" Hinata reported.

Sasuke nodded and glanced down at the small list of directions he had written across his palm in shorthand, "When we reach the next town we take the southern exit. Then it's the next town over, maybe two hours tops."

Hinata nodded, "I can see the town. We can cut through the forest from here to the southern edge of town to save time and then head down the southern path." she said, the two of them nodded before changing direction with Lee and Shino changing their path to follow.

##########

"Welcome Tsunade Senju of Konoha," said the Head Elder of the Hidden Sand Village's 'Village Council', "You have the floor."

Tsunade stood from her chair near the door and nodded to her team before she walked to the center of the large round room. Taking a look around, Tsunade noticed the room hadn't changed since the last time she was here almost thirty years ago, same round table circling the room in a large 'C' shape with all forty two councilmen and women facing her as she stood at the centre of the room, facing the noticeably empty Kazekage seat.

Tsunade reached into the valley of her chest and pulled out a yellow scroll, the very same scroll containing their first mission, "Good afternoon Village Council. I have been sent by my Hokage to take action for what occurred during the invasion against my village. Now before I start I must say that I personally mean no harm, I'm just the messenger. Here it is," she said as she tossed the scroll to the Head elder while speaking, "Your village has three options. One; finish what you started and go to war with Konoha as you are, two; sign the peace treaty on that scroll, or three; nominate someone to fight me – Tsunade Senju – one on one and whoever wins becomes the leader of the village while the loser becomes second in command while both can make laws as they want."

The council frowned as they looked around. Either way, they were going to lose either life in war, or some control in their village. The Head Elder stood, "All in favour of hearing the treaty terms?"

"""Hai!"""

Tsunade smirked as the Head Elder unrolled the scroll and begun to read aloud, "For the next three years, the Hidden Sand is to lend the services of Temari Sabaku to team Tsunade as well as lend free aid to any missions that include Leaf ninja if requested. Allow Jiraiya of the Sannin to analyze and potentially fix Gaara's Jinchuuriki Seal and finally, cover 50% of the repair costs of the Hidden Leaf's Civilian areas."

One of the younger women on the right side of the council nodded, "Those are quite reasonable terms, but why Temari? And what makes you think Jiraiya can do anything about Gaara?" she asked.

The council looked to Tsunade as the woman smirked, "I believe Temari had something to do with her being the late Kazekage's daughter and her strong affinity with Wind. And Naruto here accidentally copied most of the seal as he took care of Gaara and after showing what he knew to Jiraiya the man could already tell that not only was the seal done incorrectly, it was a seal incapable of safely housing a consciousness. Meaning the Ichibi could talk to Gaara almost all the time and torment him."

Many in the council paled at that as one of the obviously civilian members of the council stood, "I am concerned about the repair costs. How much will that be estimated exactly?" he asked.

Tsunade shrugged, "Honestly I'm not sure, but the vast majority of the damage was done to shinobi districts and clan areas. So already you guys are only paying half of about a third of the damage."

A light murmur travelled around the room, though none of it seemed too concerned or offended in any way. After a few minutes of contemplation, the Head Elder stood once more, "All those in favour of signing this peace treaty with Konoha, please raise your hand."

Tsunade looked around and smirked as everyone raised their hand almost instantly, 'Done!' she thought cheerily.

"Motion carried! The Alliance of the Leaf and Sand begins today!" the Head Elder said as he began to sign the scroll and pass it around the council room.

Tsunade turned to Naruto, Tenten and Ino and grinned, getting grins of success in return as the group began to stand and put their bags back on.

Tsunade turned to the front again, 'Okay, so that means we got three weeks here starting tomorrow. So one week to get Tenten and Ino started, have Naruto finish the basics and then get Temari interested. Then in that time Jiraiya should get here to review the seal on Gaara. Then I'll get Naruto to start on the more advanced things while the girls catch up to Naruto. Then in the last few days I'll brief them all on our next part of the journey where we say goodbye to Jiraiya and Iruka for a while… should be perfect time-wise.' she thought with a nod as everything began to fall into place for her.

##########

"...And so, I put our clan's faith in you Sasuke and Hinata of the Leaf," the Leader of the Wasabi Clan of the Land of Tea said with a nod, "Protect my racer Idate with your team. I'll see you at the race in the morning."

Hinata and Sasuke bowed, ""Hai Jirocho-sama."" they said in unison before turning to leave and meet this 'Idate Morino' for the first time.

Gathering the team, Hinata led them down the road from the Wasabi house and around the corner, coming to a small tea shop which they entered to find Idate sitting at the largest table at the back by himself.

Hinata approached the table first, "Excuse me, are you Idate-san?"

The young man raised his head and glared at each of the four Shinobi, "Leave me alone Shinobi. I don't want your help."

"That's a lie." Shino said calmly.

Idate glared at Shino, "You calling me a liar?!" he yelled as he stood.

Shino nodded, "It's a logical deduction. Since being here you've had two servings of tea and ample time to look at the menu yet you haven't ordered. This tells me that you were waiting for us specifically to see if any of us would be of use." Shino explained.

Idate's brow twitched in annoyance, but before he could argue, Hinata and Lee had boxed him in to the long booth seat by sitting, "Is it true you are the fastest in this village?!" Lee shouted.

Idate blinked at Lee in shock before suddenly Hinata jabbed his back in three places, making the boy turn his frown to her only for the girl to smile cutely, "You had a few knots in your muscles, now there's no chance they'll interfere with the race."

Idate blinked, "I… did?"

"IDATE-SAN!" Lee shouted again, making those at the table jump, "I CHALLENGE YOU TO A RACE!"

**SMACK**

Lee was suddenly unconscious on the table, making Idate stare at Sasuke with wide eyes only for the smoking Uchiha to shrug, "He'll be fine. It's just easier this way… besides, I bet he won't be unconscious for long." Sasuke said before lowering his glasses, showing his Sharingan eyes to Idate as though he was looking through him, making Sasuke's eyes narrow, "It's rare that a civilian has a chakra network. Tell me, you were once a shinobi weren't you?"

Idate blinked and glanced around, 'Blind girl, Crazy guy and…. I don't know whether these two are smart or they're just assholes…' he thought as he shot Shino a look, '...I could've sworn I just saw a bug crawl out his nose…'

##########

""Benders?"" Tenten and Ino asked.

Tsunade smirked, taking out a kunai with an explosive tag, "Let Naru-chan show you." she said, gaining the boy's attention.

Naruto turned to listen before seeing the kunai stab into the sand in front of him, it took less then a second for his mind to catch up, just before the tag exploded.

**BOOOM**

Tenten and Ino moved to leap away, but instead of the explosion being a large outward force, all of the fire from it swirled around Naruto before it moved up into the air and away from everyone, making the two girls' jaws drop as they saw him inside the flames, directing the fire away from everyone before he panted and pouted at Tsunade, "Kaa-san! I wasn't ready!"

Tsunade smirked, "That's the point! NOW!"

"FIRE STYLE!" the two girls and Naruto looked up towards the wall as the same ANBU that had been leading them throughout their stay in the village formed hand seals, "FLAME STREAM JUTSU!"

Naruto smirked as he formed a Tiger seal before jabbing his fingers at the oncoming fire, parting it around him safely as he looked up at the ANBU, 'I see, he's got a strong fire chakra signature, so he must have lots of fire jutsu in his arsenal!' Naruto thought as he punched forward, bringing some of the flames up to attack the ANBU in retaliation.

Tsunade turned to Ino and Tenten, "Now, Ino, it's gonna be hard for you to master your Water Chakra our here in the desert, but at our next locations on this long mission, you'll have the advantage. Tenten, the upside to all this sand, is that it'll help you with the first stages of Earth Bending."

"Umm, but Tsunade-sama," Tenten began with a slight frown, "I've only learned stage one and two of my Earth Chakra training. I haven't even learned one technique yet for it." Tenten admitted sheepishly.

Tsunade grinned, "Exactly the point! You see, unlike the other forms of bending, there's actually a kind of… cheat-way, to get started on how to master Earth, well, at least according to my grandmother." Tsunade said, mumbling the last part to herself.

Tenten beamed in excitement, "Amazing!"

##########

Temari raised a brow as she watched Tsunade train the two young Gennin, 'They're learning bending?' she thought as she sat down, having arrived moments before, 'Why do they need me for this?'

Temari was suddenly distracted by her thoughts as she looked over to the large plume of fire, her eyes widening as she saw Naruto bend the pre-existing flames with his arms and sparring with the flames and the ANBU throwing them at him.

Temari stared as a seemingly simple Chunnin used the first stage of the most advanced fire technique in the world, '….Maybe I should see what it's all about…'

##########

_The Next Day, Degarashi Port_

##########

"Are the racers ready?!" the man with the whistle shouted as he stood with his back towards the main gate.

Idate took a sprinter's position and glanced over to his opponent, 'I won't let you win! For my new clan and for my master!' Idate thought as he nodded to the referee.

"3!"

the gates began to swing open.

"2!"

Idate's eyes widened as he noticed the cloud formations and movements out over the water.

"1!"

Idate smirked and switched his feet, the agreed upon sign for if his plan was necessary.

"GO!"

Idate and his opponent ran forward through the now wide open gate, both about to head towards the dock towards their boats only for Idate to suddenly turn and run north.

##########

"Where are we heading Idate-san?!"

Idate glanced over his shoulder in shock as Lee easily kept up with him, causing him to notice that Sasuke was also flanking his other side, "I already told you idiot!"

Sasuke made a chakra shell around his joint as he lit it, "He's right Lee. You gotta learn to listen," he said before turning to Idate as the Uchiha smirked, "Shino and Hinata should catch up to us soon. If my theory was right and the enemy shinobi were around, then Hinata would've located them and Shino should be close to marking some if not all of them."

Idate smirked "Good, now let's move!"he shouted before sprinting ahead, making Sasuke actually have to put in effort to keep up while Lee just grinned wider and kept pace.

Almost an hour later did Sasuke leap in front of them, "Hold on." he mumbled as he formed a hand seal, "Genjutsu, Release!"

Idate and Lee both gasped as the foliage and trees around them warped before returning to normal, just as the group got to a corner that if they didn't turn, would've lead them off a cliff in a few hundred metres, "Nice catch Sasuke-kun!" Lee said with a thumbs up.

Sasuke looked over his shoulder blankly at them, "That's good, for a moment I thought it was just me, hn." he said with a slight chuckle as he fell back in line and continued to smoke.

After a few hours of running, the three of them had turned around the crescent coast until they were facing the ocean from the north. They suddenly popped out from the tree-line, looking up as Idate waved to the old man standing near a shed, "Oji-san! I need the boat!" he shouted out.

The old man standing by his beach house nodded before looking towards the beach with a small smile. The group followed his gaze, seeing Hinata standing behind the small boat and Shino floating in the air nearby.

The two shinobi and one racer sprinted towards the boat, "Hop in Idate-san!" Lee shouted, coaxing Idate to run ahead as he and Sasuke split so that they'd end up at Hinata's flanks on arrival.

Idate leapt into the boat as Hinata placed a hand on the flat of the stern, "Push!" she shouted as her Sky Palm pushed the boat from the shallows.

Lee and Sasuke continued their headlong sprint before slamming their weight against the stern on either side of Hinata, pushing the boat out into the depths as Idate began to set up the sail, "Let's move!" Sasuke said before the three of them ran across the water to rejoin Idate.

##########

Tsunade smirked as she watched Naruto begin his second last stage of training, 'I think he'll have finished this by the end of our next task,' she thought before turning to look over the side of the dune behind her, 'And even though Ino is struggling a bit, Tenten's progress is surprisingly remarkable.'

Naruto sat in a meditative state, holding his hands in front of him as he swirled his fire chakra between his fingers in intricate patterns, trying to become one with the warm feeling, 'Got it.' he thought as his eyes snapped open and without seemingly any provocation, the fire chakra burst into real flames without any seals or aid.

Naruto stood and thrust the ball of fire upwards, releasing it before he took a stance and punched forward, launching a burst of flames before he kicked, igniting and releasing another plume of fire before he held his hands close and made a ball of fire that grew bigger and bigger before it began to condense and he pushed it forward with a grunt of effort, causing the dune that it hit to explode.

Naruto smirked as he held up and hand and with a click of his fingers, creating another small fire in his hand before tossing it up again, "So… now I'm a Firebender." he mumbled with pride in his success.

Tsunade nodded before refocusing on Tenten.

The weapons mistress stood with a rock in her palm about the size of an apple. Sweat dripped off her brow and her teeth clenched in concentration as she slowly managed to make a fist around the rock, causing indents in the surface with her fingers before she dropped her stance and panted for air.

Tsunade smirked, "Tenten! Take a ten minute break, then you'll be starting the next step!" she shouted over to the girl.

Tenten almost immediately fell onto her back to lay down, throwing up a weak thumbs up towards Tsunade, "Thanks… Sensei!" She panted out before laying limp.

Tsunade smirked, 'I knew her control and obsession over perfecting skills would push her like this, but the progress she's made so far is incredible.' she thought as she turned to watch Ino.

Ino stood in a fluid stance – which was really a variation of her clan's main taijutsu style – as she felt her chakra flow throughout her body. Having trained mostly in the style of her clan's techniques, suddenly starting on elemental chakra was much more difficult then she thought it would be after watching Naruto.

Her current aim, was to stop the water from Tsunade's helper's water pistols.

Kankuro was chuckling as he had _two _puppets under his control, both of them with an oversized water pistol that continued to shoot at Ino from varying angles. Since he was heavily injured during the invasion, he was off physical training, and found making the 'Hot one' wet very enjoyable.

Ino's brow twitched as he managed to land a big wet patch on her chest, 'Stay calm, flow like water….'

**Splash**

'….don't…. kill… the idiot!' Ino thought as she tried to calm herself and focus on the water that was coming at her rather then the source.

Tsunade frowned, watching Ino's discomfort, 'I was hoping that him making it a little bit creepy would force her to move faster… but, I think it's just pissing her off more then anything,' she thought with a sigh before holding her chin in thought, 'I just need to think of another way for her to get an initial grasp on the instinct behind it… maybe she doesn't-!'

Tsunade paused as Ino stumbled unexpectedly, her arms flailing as she fell only to catch herself and continue the training, but in that short flail, a single shot from one of the water pistols bent around her arm and missed.

"Good work Ino!" Tsunade exclaimed, making Ino and Kankuro pause, "I spotted a shot that reacted to you! That means it's working! Kankuro, start the next step!"

Kankuro chuckled as Ino lit up with joy at her slight success, but before she could say anything, Kankuro's two puppets stopped about three meters away on either side of her, this time not circling, but focussing their fire on each side of her head.

Tsunade chuckled as she watched Ino's mixed look of determination and annoyance, 'Don't worry Ino,' she thought as she glanced up towards the wall of the Hidden Sand Village, 'Once she finally decides to join us we'll be moving on to the next location. Much more water over where Iruka and Jiraiya will be waiting, much easier to train you.' she thought with a chuckle as she spotted the girl spying on them.

##########

Temari looked down at Tsunade's team with a frown on her face. She had been contemplating whether or not to take her up on the offer of becoming an Airbender.

By order of the council – due to the terms of the treaty – Temari had to join the team for a while. But that didn't mean that she had to do the training or listen to them, and Tsunade had even told her that if she wanted to sit out, she could.

Temari shook her head in disbelief as she watched Ino and Tenten, 'Watching those two makes me really doubtful that I could learn anything with these guys...'

"Hey you came!"

Temari's focus redirected and her eyes widened as Gaara led Jiraiya through the gates of the village and towards Naruto with the blonde being the one who shouted to them.

Temari blinked as she looked at Gaara, that was definitely her brother, but his entire appearance was different and he seemed to be walking tall and positive somehow even though he had lost use of his legs back in the exams. She hadn't seen him for the past three days but she'd been worried, 'Gaara, what are you doing there?'

#########

Jiraiya grinned as he patted Gaara on the shoulder, causing the redhead to look up at him with a small but bright smile, "Go ahead, get a feel for your new power. And remember, you're in control, not that beast. You control sand, it's made of it."

Gaara nodded, "Hai Jiraiya-sama." he said softly as he began to jog towards Naruto.

Jiraiya watched the two interact as he walked over to Tsunade, "How's it going?" he asked with his ever-shining grin.

Tsunade smirked, "Naruto is just perfecting the last step to be a real Firebender, so before we go..." she said as she looked at Jiraiya pointedly.

Jiraiya raised a brow, "Eh? What's that look for?"

"You're going to give him the Lightning Conjuring technique that Minato developed," she said with a smirk that made Jiraiya's eyes widen, "Don't think that old lie fooled me Jiraiya, I know that Minato had a strong affinity to Wind naturally and his secondary was Fire. Unlike any other Lightning Jutsu, the Bolt Lightning Jutsu Minato made is what happens when one uses mastered Fire Conjuring in the style of Wind, something that Naruto can achieve very soon if you give us the scroll."

Jiraiya seemed to contemplate the thought for a moment before he grinned, "Okay, but on one condition," he said as he nodded excitedly, "Tell me where you've sent Iruka and I'll go meet up with him early. The Sandaime showed great concern when he heard Iruka was on a mission by himself in the Crescent Moon Kingdom."

Tsunade's eyes widened, "What? Why? He said nothing when I discussed that part of the mission earlier, he didn't even think of it as a challenge, just another stop-off."

Jiraiya nodded, "He wouldn't tell me, but Sarutobi-sensei still wants me to convince the King of the Crescent Moon Kingdom to extend his tour around the Land of Fire for another six months where we can assure he has the best protection as well as show him a tour personally upon Sensei's retirement. With a high pay going to the village over the next six months of course." he said with a grin.

Tsunade nodded as now it was her turn to grin, "Perfect! Once you and Iruka get him to the Land of Shores and we'll try to get to our next checkpoint earlier then planned, then I can get the help with Tenten and Ino that I need."

##########

"Over three days?" Naruto asked with wide eyes, "Geez, you must've been really tired to have slept that long..." he mumbled.

Gaara nodded, "Jiraiya's seal made me able to sleep safely again, and thanks to Tsunade healing my chakra network and doing all that she could for my spine, I am once more a functioning shinobi of the Sand." he said with a slight smile.

Naruto nodded with a smile, about to say something before suddenly leaping away from the wave of sand that suddenly reached up towards him, "Hey! What gives?!"

Gaara took a stance, showing off his new outfit as it fluttered in the breeze. He wore a matching set of long red pants and a formal long sleeve red shirt, the collar flicked up with a bow tie made of sand as well red shinobi sandals. Instead of one large massive gourd on his back, he now wore two smaller gourds on each thigh and third gourd across his lower back with a sword handle replacing the cork that kept the third gourd closed.

Gaara smirked as he lifted his arms, making the two gourds on his legs open and the sand join with the desert sand and twist towards Naruto, "Come on Naruto Senju the Firebender! Show me your skills!" Gaara shouted as his sand lifted up to fall down on Naruto.

The blonde's eyes widened as he stepped back, not having time to react as the sand made a ball around him that began to condense. But suddenly, the sand exploded outwards with a wave of fire that spread out from Naruto as he stood in a defensive stance and cracked his knuckles, "Alright then Sandy, let's go! Round two!"

Gaara's brow twitched in annoyance, 'Sandy….?'

############

Chapter End.


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter Twenty Three: Bending in progress, Todoroki Shrine Race

"Ship spotted." Hinata said with a grin, "Shino, your insects are working wonders, they all have less then half of their chakra left."

Shino adjusted his glasses as he floated alongside the boat, "So, time for extraction I assume?" he asked the group.

Sasuke and Hinata nodded in unison before looking to Lee, "You ready?" Sasuke asked.

Lee nodded in determination, "Hai!"

Shino readjusted his glasses, "I shall be ready in six minutes." he said as every now and then a single insects would fly towards the boat and land on the deck.

Hinata looked at Sasuke as she took out a storage scroll, "Now remember only to target the ninjas if they move towards Idate and I. We don't want to interfere with the racer." she reminded him as she unsealed two flare guns.

Sasuke lit up one last joint before they were going to watch, "Sound fair." he said as he grabbed one of the flare guns and tossed it to Shino.

The bug user caught it and put it in his pocket with no other sign of movement, too busy with watching his insects slowly come back and use the chakra from their enemies to form an Insect Clone of Shino…. Though so far, there was only the feet.

##########

"Yeah I see them." Sasuke said, his Sharingan glowing red as he lifted his sunglasses, using the amazingly adaptable lens of his eye to look at the boat below them, "Huh, it seems to be one of the Rain teams from the Chunnin exams. But… there's only one of them on the ship, the other two just dove into the water…" Sasuke paused as he squinted, "Crap, I think that thing in their mouths' let them breath underwater! I'm losing sight of them but they're definitely heading towards Idate's boat!"

Shino looked at his Insect clone as they each held Sasuke and Lee in their respective grasps, flying over to the enemy ship before they nodded in unison, "Time to execute the plan then." Shino said as he and his clone flew up a bit higher before performing a loop to throw them towards the water at full speed.

Sasuke's gauntlets appeared on his wrists as Lee's bandages wrapped around him, they began spinning at high speed towards the water as Sasuke lead with his black gauntlet.

"PRIMARY LOTUS!"

"BULLET PUNCH!"

Shino adjusted his glasses as his Insect Clone re-entered his body, "That's more powerful then anticipated..." Shino mumbled as Lee and Sasuke's combination created a small tornado drill that shot towards the water and upon contact, blasting open a clear path to one of the two Gennin underwater.

Shino turned towards Idate's ship and shot the flare gun Hinata had given him up into the air as a signal for the others before looking down at the enemy's ship, seeing the third Gennin of the Rain team lifting what appeared to be a spear-gun, 'That's not good.' he thought as the Rain Gennin took aim at those in the water.

Shino came down from above as he whipped out his duel Kama and swooped in front of the Gennin, hacking his weapon into thirds and disarming him before flying around the boat in a circle and kicking the shinobi off the deck into the water.

Shino stood on the edge of the boat before glancing over his shoulder to the nervous looking runner, "Do not worry. I won't hurt you as long as you don't cheat in the race." Shino said before lifting into the air just as the Rain ninja popped out of the water and threw a flurry of shuriken at Shino.

Shino dodged the shuriken before swooping at the ninja who ducked under water to dodge.

##########

The two underwater Gennin swam quickly through the water before suddenly, they felt the water around them begin to stir dangerously just before the water suddenly blasted away.

"PRIMARY LOTUS!"

"BULLET PUNCH!"

Sasuke and Lee's combination attack landed square on the back of the one Gennin that had both eyes covered, instantly knocking him out from the pain of having his spine, ribs, lungs and heart heavily smashed.

The water began to close in on them again as Sasuke and Lee both looked towards the one last Gennin who was staring at them with a single wide eye, "Taicho!" Lee shouted just as the water closed completely back around them.

Sasuke began to build up chakra as the Rain Gennin swam towards them at high speed while forming hand seals. Sasuke turned away as the Rain Gennin formed a trident out of solidified water that he thrust at Sasuke, only for Lee to smash it away with his shield and send a kick that thanks to the water, the Rain Gennin was able to dodge.

Lee kicked hard and swam upwards as Sasuke turned back to face their last opponent as he suddenly span at high speed, 'TUNNELLING FANG!' Sasuke thought as he drilled through the water and speared the opponent with the front of the drill, all the way up and out of the water with Lee getting in the way, using his shield to protect himself and subsequently crush the enemy between the two Leaf Chunnin.

As Sasuke burst from the water, the Rain gennin's blood flew as he landed floating on the water as his team-mate floated up next to him.

Sasuke flipped to land standing on his feet as he looked up apologetically at Lee only to blink in amazement as he saw what Lee was doing.

The angle in which Lee was flung off let him hold his shield out to bounce across the water's surface as the third Rain Gennin came up to launch a water jutsu at Shino. The only problem, was that Lee skimmed shield-first across the water and into that gennin's head, bouncing up into the air and over the enemy's boat with a shout of surprise until he splashed into the water.

Sasuke blinked before chuckling as he knelt to grab an arm of the two enemies he had knocked out, dragging them towards Lee and Shino as the insect user pulled the third unconscious enemy into the air.

Lee swam over to them as Shino pulled out a small rectangle and pulled a tag, making it blow up to create a small floating raft that he dropped into the water. Sasuke tied in each guy one at a time to it before passing one end of rope that was attached to the floaty for Shino to drag it while Sasuke went and helped Lee onto his feet since the boy still struggled with the Water walking exercise.

The three Leaf Chunnin nodded to eachother before they began moving at full speed.

##########

Hinata nodded and turned to Idate, "I saw everything, it went a little different then planned but luckily for us it actually worked!" she said with a smile.

Idate smiled at Hinata's expression, 'This is a breeze… maybe these guys aren't too bad after all.'

###########

An hour later, Idate's boat docked just as the opposing racer's vessel came into clear view. The Leaf Shinobi tied the boat up as Idate ran ahead with Sasuke and Hinata by his sides once more.

Lee and Shino watched as they dashed off, "I don't like being left behind." Lee said with a frown.

Shino sighed, "It's only for a short while for you Lee. I'm the one that has to babysit the enemy." Shino said with a nod towards the three tied up and unconscious young men.

##########

Iruka stood at attention, a serious look on his face as he thought over his first part of the mission, 'I just have to escort this man around the Land of Fire for while now… but it's a lot of pressure to gain his favour, it's not something I can take lightly.' he thought before glancing at his partner for the mission.

Jiraiya grinned at Iruka, "What's that face for? You nervous?" he asked.

Iruka sighed and shook his head, "No Jiraiya-sama, I'm just… I thought Tsunade-sama needed me for my skills with Elemental Chakra. If that's so then why am I here and not with her training the kids?"

Jiraiya scratched the back of his head, "Well, this may come as a surprise to you, but Tsunade thinks that you're the most mature Chunnin in the Leaf and quite frankly the only one that may be able to teach Prince Michiru's son the important things about becoming a real man in the world." Jiraiya said before yawning.

Iruka blinked in shock, "… a child? I'm here to babysit?!" Iruka asked in sudden annoyance.

Jiraiya laughed, "If you wanna see it like that then go ahead. But personally I think you should take more like you've got a limited time to show the boy – who just so happens to be in line to be king of the wealthiest nation connected to the Elemental Nations – that Konoha is a good ally, a great friend and full of decent people. Also I hear he acts a bit like Konohamaru before the boy knew what being Hokage really meant, so he may need some guidance of his own."

Iruka was silent as he contemplated the mission. Though only a few minutes later, the two turned to the north as they heard the sound of a large group. They moved from their place in the highest trees down to the main road, Jiraiya stepping forward with a wave towards the oncoming caravan, "Good day Prince Michiru and men!" he began, causing three people at the front to look up from their posts and stare, "My name is Lord Jiraiya and I'm here escort you around the Land of Fire for the time of your stay here!"

Iruka's eyes narrowed as he noticed two heads stick out of the windows of the fanciest carriage, his gaze analysing the young glasses-wearing boy, 'So that's them, Michiru and Hikaru Tsuki…'

##########

Hinata frowned as her Byakugan eyes picked up someone standing in their path, "Sasuke, get ready." she said.

Idate took a breath as Sasuke smirked as he formed hand seals, "No worries." Sasuke said as he put his shades over his eyes and Hinata tightened her headband over the same place.

Idate managed to glance at both Sasuke and Hinata before he gulped nervously, 'I can trust them… they're nothing like _that man_ was like.' Idate thought with a slight smirk as Hinata and Sasuke got slightly ahead of him.

The trio turned the corner before they were suddenly covered by a shadow. All three of them looked up, but only Sasuke reacted fast enough as he leapt above the others, "FIRE STYLE: BURNING ASH!" Sasuke exclaimed before taking a drag of his joint and blowing out a surprisingly large amount of ash that exploded outwards just in time.

"HIDDEN RAIN STYLE: ONE THOUSAND NEEDLE RAIN!"

Idate stumbled under the explosion, looking around to see the thousands of deflected senbon fall to the ground harmlessly, but one lodged in his calf muscle, making his running speed much slower.

Hinata grabbed Idate's hand as she formed a hand seal, "HIDDEN MIST JUTSU!" she exclaimed as she and Idate disappeared.

Sasuke smirked as mist began to roll in. He lifted his shades, staring off the road at the man who had attacked them earlier, "If you want Idate you'll have to go through me!" he exclaimed.

A dark chuckle echoed across the group as the mist began to swirl around the whole battlefield, hiding Hinata and Idate as Sasuke's eyes glowed red, waiting for the source of the chuckle to reveal itself.

"It seems I don't actually."

Before Sasuke even registered a thought, he turned and used his Bullet Punch to shoot through the mist and block the kunai strike aiming for the back of Idate's head, entering a power struggle with the tall teen in front of him.

Aoi Rokushi smiled darkly at Sasuke, "Good reaction speed, but don't think some gauntlets and those eyes will be enough to beat a Jonin like me." he said as he went to kick Sasuke back.

Hinata stepped forward as Sasuke blocked the kick to allow her to counter, but to their surprise, his kick had enough force in it to send them both flying away from Idate.

Aoi turned towards Idate and slashed, but as he glared into the boy's eyes, he realised something was off, 'He doesn't recognise me… oh well, it's not like he's worth remembering either.' Aoi thought with a dark grin as he plunged the kunai into Idate's chest.

**POOF**

Aoi paused as it took him a few seconds to realise that he had stabbed a Transformed Shadow Clone that Hinata had made in the mist. Meaning not only was Idate gone, but the earlier attack was a ruse.

Aoi turned around just as Sasuke kicked him in the jaw, sending him up into the air towards Hinata who let his momentum carry him face and chest first into her elbow and knee respectively before they fell through the air together with Hinata landing a flurry of Gentle Fist strikes before Aoi managed to push her away, just as Sasuke finished his hand seals and launched his jutsu at Aoi's back, "UCHIHA FIRE STYLE: GRAND FIREBALL JUTSU!"

**BOOOOOOOOM**

Hinata and Sasuke regrouped as they kept their advanced eyes on the fire, "Lee should've seen my fireball as the signal, did it work?" Sasuke asked her.

Hinata nodded, "Idate got away in the mist and once Lee is here you use your Tigers to catch up to Idate. This guy used that umbrella as a shield at the last minute, so be ready." she said as she took a taijutsu stance.

Sasuke nodded and formed a series of hand seals before he tossed his joint in the air, forming an Ash Clone that ran out to Hinata's left as the original Sasuke moved right, circling Aoi until they formed a triangle around him.

The fire faded to show an angry looking Aoi holding a destroyed umbrella, leaving only the metal frame and the handle which Aoi dropped to the ground before taking out an odd shaped triangle handle, "So it comes to this then… I guess you guys are much more impressive then I thought." he said as Sasuke formed hand seals, Hinata built up chakra in her hand and the Ash Clone charged towards Aoi.

"SKY PALM!" Hinata shouted as her jutsu shot towards Aoi's weapon.

"FIRE STYLE: PHOENIX FLOWER JUTSU!" Sasuke shouted as his jutsu flew at Aoi.

The Jonin's handle sparked with electric energy before it burst into a full on lightning sword, making Hinata's eyes widen in realisation on who their enemy was as the lightning sword not only disrupted her attack into just a burst of chakra, but then he swung it around the cut each and every miniature fireball out of the air before turning and slashing through the chest of the Ash Clone.

Sasuke smirked and held a hand seal, "Got you now! ASH CLONE TECHNIQUE: CHOKE HOLD!" he exclaimed as the Ash Clone leapt forward and burst into just ash.

Aoi gasped as he realised it was trying to enter his mouth, nose and eyes, but after accidentally breathing in a mouthful, he sent chakra to his blade that made it buzz with electricity as he swung it, generating a burst of electricity that blasted the rest of the ash and the area around him away.

Sasuke and Hinata scowled in unison towards Aoi as the man coughed heavily and glared at them, "Damn, he's stronger then I thought." Sasuke mumbled in annoyance as he watched his burned out joint fall to the ground.

Hinata scowled, "Sasuke..."

Sasuke nodded as he glanced to the main road, seeing the opposing runner sprinting past….

...with an illegal knife strapped to his hip.

Sasuke and Hinata turned their attention back to Aoi as the man stood tall, but suddenly, Hinata jolted before grinning, "Get going Sasuke, Lee is on his way."

Sasuke smirked before glancing at Hinata, "Curse Seal?" he asked.

Hinata's smile tilted downward, "Try not to."

Sasuke shrugged before they both began to form hand seals in unison, making Aoi take a stance with his sword, ready to take them down, ""SUMMONING JUTSU!""

**POOF**

Aoi's eyes narrowed as Hinata and Sasuke both appeared atop a Mammoth and a Tiger respectively, though Aoi readied the Sword of the Thunder God as Sasuke's Tiger ran towards him, only to leap up and over him as they darted off after Idate.

"MAMMOTH ART: BLIZZARD!" Hinata yelled as her mammoth's tusks glowed a white-blue colour and it opened it's mouth.

Aoi gritted his teeth as he went to attack the Mammoth before it could launch it's attack, but out of nowhere he was kicked across the face by an enthusiastic green-clad Chunnin with a shield, "DYNAMIC ENTRY!" Lee shouted as Aoi spun in a daze.

The Mammoth let out it's deep breath as Lee disappeared in a blur, letting the mammoth breath out a snowy blizzard towards Aoi that made the Jonin fly back into a tree as the area frosted over and snow covered everything in range.

Hinata leaped down from her mammoth as Lee appeared next to her, "His sword seems to be made of pure electricity, any ideas?" Hinata asked.

Lee grinned, "It will have no effect as long as I have my shield!" Lee shouted excitedly as he took his shield and charged at Aoi.

"Lee! Wait! Metal conducts electricity!" Hinata shouted in worry.

Aoi grinned as he saw Lee's charge and slashed wildly, 'It doesn't matter if I'm injured! One hit and their dead!' he thought with a crazed shout.

Lee grinned as he swung his shield and blocked the sword, making everyone stare at Lee wasn't even zapped and he managed to not even have a scratch on his shield, "Metal may conduct electricity, but my Vibranium Shield has been magnetised so that I can return it to my side at any time! And we all know what magnetised metal can do!" Lee shouted excitedly.

Aoi stepped back in shock, leaning against the tree he was initially slammed against, "Wha-what?!" he exclaimed.

Lee shook his head, "It means, it can hold an electric charge!" Lee shouted as he bashed the sword from Aoi's hand and punched him in the face.

Aoi stared in fear as his sword flew away, being caught by Hinata as her mammoth's trunk extended to lift her around the battlefield, 'No!' Aoi thought just before Lee's fist broke his cheek bone.

Lee took a step back and glared at Aoi, "Stand down now and we'll let you return to your village!" Lee ordered.

Hinata's eyes trailed on Aoi, ready for anything.

Aoi stared at Lee in silence for a moment before he dropped his head, 'I never thought… I'd have to use this…' he thought as his chin made contact with his chest and he channelled his chakra to the small seal made from the contact.

"Lee! Move!" Hinata shouted as her mammoth's trunk extended, moving Hinata forward as Lee glanced back at her unaware.

The seal expanded across Aoi's body, forming an explosive seal the size of his torso, located centrally around his heart before he glared up at Lee and the quick approaching Hinata, "My village doesn't accept failures! So I may lose here, but I'll take you Leaf scum with me!" Aoi shouted just as the seal glowed bright red.

Hinata's hand lunged over Lee's shoulder, slamming into the seal just above Aoi's heart to make the seal minimise to a normal explosion instead of the expanded one that would surely have killed both of them and maybe even her mammoth, this way, there was a small chance they'd live.

Aoi fell back from the palm thrust, his heart stopping from her strike as Lee grabbed Hinata around the chest and pulled her close as he jumped up, trying to tuck the both of them behind his shield just as the suicide seal exploded.

**BOOOM**

Lee and Hinata shot from the explosion like a rocket, but thanks to her Mammoth's trunk that still had a grip on Hinata, they were pulled to it's side to land heavily but safely against it's warm hair.

Lee dropped the shield as Hinata sighed in relief, Lee bursting into a laugh of relief since they almost died, "We did it Hinata-taicho!" Lee shouted excitedly.

Hinata smiled and nodded, though she winced as she moved her shoulder, making her look down and frown at the burn over her right arm and partially on her right leg, "Lee-kun..."

"What an exhilarating fight!" Lee shouted.

"Lee-kun.."

"These rain ninja are quite crafty!"

"Lee."

"And their Jonin sensei was even more-"

"LEE!"

Lee paused at Hinata's shout, making him notice her burns as she sighed, "Go get Shino-kun, I'm going to head towards the finish line to see what's happening."

##########

Sasuke smirked from his branch as he caught up to the limping Idate, 'He's still moving that fast? Impressive…' he thought before glancing back about fifty meters and the quickly approaching runner from the enemy's side, 'Don't interfere with the race… but if that guy breaks the rules… then I don't see why I can't as well, just gotta make sure Idate doesn't notice.'

Idate – having heard the other runner catching up – began to move faster towards the last corner, 'Not far now!'

The opposing runner increased his pace, taking out the knife as he threw the scabbard off into the bush.

Sasuke frowned, 'That's enough for me.' he thought as he took out some ninja wire and a shuriken.

Idate pushed himself harder and harder, blood dripping from his calf as he looked up in determination, 'One more corner, then it's just the stairs.'

The Armed Runner lifted his knife, ready to get Idate before any spectators could see them, though as he swung down, his hand hand got caught on the nearly invisible ninja wire that Sasuke had set up with his shuriken, making the runner hesitate and stumble.

Sasuke blurred across the track, grabbing the dodgy knife before disappearing faster then either of the civilians could see thanks to his Shunshin.

Hearing the other runner stumble, Idate's eyes closed as his heart pumped, 'This is my chance!' he thought as he shouted in effort, managing to enter what some would consider a sprint.

The enemy runner gritted his teeth and began to run as well, making Sasuke sigh as both of them came within view of the last stretch, 'It's on you now Idate.' Sasuke thought before looking to his tiger, "Go get the others, tell them our mission is technically accomplished since he's made it here alive."

##########

"Well, I guess this is it for now huh..." Naruto said with a sad smile as he offered a hand to Gaara.

The redhead nodded and accepted the hand shake, "It matters not Naruto, as Jinchuuriki, our bond will not be broken by distance," Gaara said before pulling Naruto closer and even smirking slightly, "And as friends, time will not be of consequence either."

Naruto mirrored the smirk and nodded, "You're right Gaara." he said as they stepped apart and glanced over at the weirdest development he had seen.

Tenten and Kankuro were in a lip-lock the likes of which Naruto had never seen. Ever since Tenten asked him about puppets as ninja tools and he gave her one overnight information session, the two had become weirdly close, like their ideal partner in life had suddenly appeared before them.

And it was gross.

"Tenten come up for air! His make-up is getting more smudged then yours!" Ino exclaimed with a scowl.

Tenten flipped her off without even turning away from Kankuro, though a moment later the two separated from their deep kiss, "See you back at the Leaf?" she asked.

Kankuro nodded, "With Temari going with you guys my village needs someone else for the inter-village trust. I'm gonna volunteer, so I'll probably beat you there." he said before pulling her close and whispering in her ear.

**WHACK**

"Geez you two," Temari said as she straightened her new outfit, placing her replacement fan from the village's council on her back as she frowned at Tenten and Kankuro – both of whom where now face first in the sand – on her way past, "I don't ever want to have to see that crap again."

Ino waved to Temari, excited to see the girl since that meant they were off to the next mission. Ino turned to Tsunade, "Ready to go Taicho?"

Tsunade smiled at Ino and nodded, "We'll be heading to the Land of Snow to make contact, that's a full week from here if we take our time. The question is, can we set a new record?" she asked with a grin.

Naruto appeared next to Tsunade in a Shunshin, "Hell yeah we can! The docks at the Land of Waves is closer then the other ports too! Can we launch from there?!" he requested excitedly.

Tsunade smiled at him before clearing her throat, "Attention!" Immediately, those leaving with Tsunade lined up next to each other, starting from the left with Temari, Naruto, Ino and Tenten, "Temari, use your Wind Fan to circulate air underneath yourself and hover!"

The group seemed surprised at this order, but Temari did as she was told, taking her fan out and creating a wind cushion underneath it, "Ready." she said after a few moments.

Tsunade then turned to Tenten, "Latch on to her fan."

Tenten shrugged and moved around behind Temari, thinking for a moment before she nodded and knelt, burying her hands in the sand for a moment with her eyes closed. After a few moments, her eyes opened and she stood with two blocks of sandstone around her fists. She moved over to Temari and put the blocks on the back end of her fan, using the sand to grip around the base of it and lock her hands to the joint of the fan, making Tenten smile at her success, "Ready?" she said questioningly.

Tsunade nodded and turned to Naruto, "Good thinking Tenten, Naruto, two of your summons."

Naruto nodded and formed hand seals, "SUMMONING JUTSU!"

**POOF**

Tsunade nodded to Ino as the weird blue Pegasus appeared alongside Kaze – Naruto's personal summon – and marched out of the Summoning smoke, "Ino, I want you to listen to Naruto as he puts you into a 'Tag defence' hold that we've talked about. Then, I want you to use your Water Whip to grip Temari's arms."

Naruto hopped up on Kaze and helped Ino into position – sitting on his lap facing him with her arms stretched out behind his back, her head resting on his left shoulder so they could see past each other easily with her Water Whips reaching out from her hands to wrap connect to Temari's arms before the surface tension maximised, basically connecting the two safely – and that position was making Ino and Naruto blush like mad as they were pressed flush against each other.

Tsunade hopped onto the blue pegasus as it trotted to the front of the line, "Alright! Naruto tells me that these Pegasi are able to cross the elemental nations in under two days! So! For the next twenty four hours straight we're doing a training exercise; Naruto will be flying Kaze and defending the four of you, Ino will be focussed on maintaining her chakra in a Water state without expelling any more of it, Temari will be using her Wind Chakra to keep her fan stable enough to balance on and Tenten will have to maintain her chakra's Earth Nature to keep her ultimate grip. Got it?"

Temari, Ino and Tenten paled as they realised that them messing this up could lead to some serious problems – like falling to death – so their gazes hardened as they nodded in unison. But Naruto raised a hand curiously, "Umm, Kaa-san? What will I be defending from exactly?"

Tsunade smirked, "I will do a handful of small random attacks throughout our journey, your job is to keep them safe either by evading the threat or removing it."

Naruto gulped but nodded, 'This is going to be a hard one.' he thought as Tsunade waved her arms to get them to focus on her.

"Before you get started, I have a specialised Soldier Pill for each of you to have. It's got time-delayed caffeinating effects so that you won't get tired, but still, you must maintain focus on your own. Understood?" Tsunade asked.

The team nodded in unison, deactivating their techniques to take the Soldier Pill before reigniting them even stronger then before.

Tsunade nodded, "We'll get all the way to Wave Country in two days before we head out over the ocean to the Land of Snow." she said before leaning down to the Pegasus, "Ready when you are, we need to head that way." she said, pointing east.

After a short gallop, the two pegasi took off, Tenten and Temari shouting in shock as they were lifted into the air. Temari had to boost herself up and over a sand dune with Tenten flailing through the air behind her before they were above the desert and flying.

Naruto leaned forward, holding Ino tightly to him as the girl grunted initially, "You okay?" he asked her.

Ino nodded before a shuriken suddenly cut through her hair tie, making her long locks flutter behind Naruto as he looked up, seeing Tsunade lift up the first weapon scroll she had helped Naruto make, "Attack number one!" Tsunade shouted over the winds before unleashing the entire seal up into the air above and in front of the group.

Naruto's Uzugan took the cloud of steel in detail as he read the trajectory of them, 'Can't out run them… can't do high level Ninjutsu up here,' Naruto thought as he gripped Kaze's mane, 'Kaze! I need a rising wind wall!'

Kaze nodded before swooping slightly, using the momentum to rise up quickly before Kaze's wings widened, catching the air and forcing it upwards as Naruto pulled one arm free and sparked his Fire Chakra, "HA!"

From Naruto's fist shot a burst of flames that combined with the Wind Wall, creating a hole in the massive group of weapons that Kaze dove to make it through while Naruto punched a few more bursts of fire to clear the way for the trailing Temari and Tenten, the brunette just barely ducking the closest weapon before they made it through.

Suddenly, the group looked up as Tsunade overcharged a basic Fire ball jutsu towards them, making it so that the fireball nearly blocked their escape from the weapons, but Naruto crossed his fingers, making a Shadow Clone that used the Shunshin to appear before the fireball, splitting the Ninjutsu down the middle with an axe kick so that Naruto and the others could make it through safely.

"Good work Naruto! Ino, great focus! Temari, you need read your path from seeing where Naruto is going ahead of you. Keep holding on Tenten!" Tsunade shouted before pointing ahead, "Now let's move!"

Naruto whistled and the two pegasi picked up the pace, climbing higher into the air to cover the most distance in the fastest time.

##########

Hinata got a ride up on Sasuke's Tiger while Lee and Shino moved beside it. Shino had all the evidence of the opposing side hiring ninjas – such as three tied up unconscious shinobi that were told they'll be let free if they tell the truth and either way they're still gonna get paid – so the Wasabi family was told that they were to be in charge for a decade rather then four years.

All thanks to Idate winning the Todoroki Shrine race.

Unfortunately, there was a downside.

During the victory celebration, those from Konoha were asked to join in the party and Lee experienced his first drink of alcohol…. And subsequently, Konoha had to spend half of it's mission pay on repairs from his surprising and sudden drunken rampage.

But in the end the men and women of the village just laughed it off, gladly meeting the team that saved their Idate at the gate on the day of their exit.

"So long Hinata, Sasuke, Shino and Lee. You are all trusted friends of my family and if you ever need us or Idate here," Jirocho began as he placed a comforting hand on Idate's shoulder, "Just contact us and we'll be there."

The Leaf ninja bowed to the Leader of Wasabi family before turning away except for Sasuke, "No worries, if you need us, you know how to contact us." he said before they all blurred away.

##########

_Two days Later_

##########

It was nearing sunset when Team Tsunade lowered through the air, firstly with Temari and Tenten since Ino had dropped her technique just as they crossed the border, allowing Temari to glide down to the one obvious land mark she could see.

Temari flipped off of her fan, pulling Tenten through the flip with her as the bun-haired girl turned her sandstone grip back to just loose sand, landing next to Temari as they turned to see Tsunade, Naruto and Ino land on the Pegasi he had flown, "Is this it?" Temari asked, never having been this far away from the desert before.

Naruto nodded as his two pegasi disappeared in matching plumes of smoke, allowing him and Tsunade to land on their feet while Naruto had to steady Ino with his hands, "Yeah it is! Follow me!" Naruto shouted before jogging down the bridge with Tsunade and the others following him.

Ino sighed in exhaustion, "How the hell is he still going?" she mumbled before following after.

For twenty minutes they jogged, only slowing as they saw the end of the bridge in the close distance. Coming to a stop, Temari raised a brow as she read the plaque, "Huh? Hey, you didn't tell me they named the bridge after you!" Temari exclaimed.

The three other females surrounded the sign as they saw 'The Great Naruto Bridge' along with a commemoration of what had occurred to inspire the creation of the bridge along with the heroes who not only saved it but the Land of Waves itself.

Tsunade looked at Naruto with wide eyes, making Naruto blush in embarrassment, "I actually had no idea… I thought it was the bridge of hope or something?" he mumbled, trying to come up with some form of reasoning before he suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Naruto Senju!" Tazuna greeted with a wide grin, causing Naruto to grin in return as he turned to the older man, "How's the hero of wave doing?" Tazuna asked.

Naruto hugged Tazuna, "Hey Old man! I'm great!" he said before turning back to the team, "Here I want you to meet some people, these are two of my fellow Leaf ninja; Tenten Higurashi and Ino Yamanaka, this is our Sand Village representative; Temari Sabaku and last but not least my mom Tsunade!" Naruto said with an excited grin.

Tazuna's jaw dropped as he saw the beautiful women surrounding Naruto, even more so when he looked at Naruto and noticed that the boy didn't even realise his luck, 'I know men that would kill to travel with a bunch like this.' Tazuna thought.

Tsunade stepped up to Tazuna, winking at him as she smiled, 'He's about Jiraiya's and my age… looking good for it too.' Tsunade thought as she watched Tazuna blush slightly.

Naruto looked between Tsunade and Tazuna, raising a brow at the odd look they were sharing before he cleared his throat, "So Tazuna-san, what's with the suit?"

Tazuna blinked at Naruto before looking down at his clothes. It was true, unlike the babbling drunk that Naruto had originally met, Tazuna seemed to glow with the pride in his three piece suit and replacing the massive jug of alcohol he normally carried around, he was carrying a suitcase. Though as Tazuna took out and drunk from a flask in his vest, Naruto realised the man wasn't so changed after all.

Tazuna cleared his throat after his drink, "Since Gato's fall Wave village decided to take his company and turn it into Wave Transport industries, in the three months since you guys have gone our village has become a major trading port for the eastern nations of the Elemental nations. Everyone has a job and most of us even have two or three," Tazuna said as he straightened his tie and grinned, "I'm the head of Tazuna's building company and my recently expanded company has basically rebuilt every important building in the village! Also, I'm the village's representative in all foreign trade!" Tazuna said proudly.

Naruto's grin covered his face as he jumped up with a cheer, "Let's go see everyone then! I wanna see the town!"

##########

Tazuna showed the group around town, setting them up in a hotel before moving past the homeless shelter – which to Naruto's surprise was still where he had set up a healing center the first time – and leading them to the docks.

Instead of the old docks which housed a few boat sheds and a wharf, the docks now covered the entire southern half of the island and at the largest of the ports stood a cruise ship the likes of which they had never seen.

Moving from the docks back into town, Tazuna showed them the new shopping and hotel district which both seemed to be overflowing with customers.

Less then two hours after their arrival they managed to settle in to some hotel rooms. Since there were an odd number of them, Tsunade took one room with Temari – hoping to give the girl some help on pure manipulation rather then using Ninjutsu to channel her Wind Chakra – while Tenten and Ino were given a room to share for their time there as well.

Which left Naruto to go to his room by himself, letting him get some peace as he moved inside…

##########

Closing the door to his simple room, Naruto smiled while looking around. Since his room was at the corner of the building, Naruto could see both east and south out of the windows to look at the fog-ridden village. The room was simple enough, to Naruto's right was the living/ sleeping space with two single beds and two chairs around the bench in the middle of the room. To his left was a door that he assumed lead to the bathroom while just next to it was the start of the kitchenette.

Naruto's smile grew, 'Lovely.' he thought as he walked over to the larger set of windows and swung one open before crossing his fingers.

**POOF**

Naruto turned away from the window to look at his three clones, "You, keep focussing on our medical chakra and techniques, don't let my most important skill fade just because I'm starting on Fire Bending." Naruto said before pointing to the second one, "And you master the few Wind Jutsu we know, I need them brought down to just one or two hand seals."

""Hai!"" the two of them said before leaping out of the window to find a place to train.

Naruto turned to his last clone, "Stay here and meditate. Think through and analyse all of my known jutsu and see if there are any combos or compatible skills available that we haven't thought of yet. Also contact me if I'm needed."

The clone sighed but nodded before frowning in thought, "And if I need to tell anyone where you've gone?"

Naruto smirked as he formed a single handed ram seal, "I've got a cavern to find." he sad before disappearing in a shunshin.

Appearing atop Tazuna's house, Naruto looked up at the night's sky as he reached into his pouch and took out the envelope that Tsunami had given him before his departure the first time. Naruto turned so that the sun was at his back and stared into the distance, barely making out where the river widened further inland.

Naruto glanced over his shoulder to the randomly spread out but bright lights of the village, showing it's growth in a way that made Naruto smile, 'To think… this used to be just a front for the Hidden Whirlpool Village… and now it's more of a village then Whirlpool could ever be.' he thought with no small amount of pride directed towards the Land of Waves.

Naruto's Uzugan turned back towards the river before using a Shunshin to appear a half mile up into the sky, "PEGASUS ART: WIND RIDER!" Naruto announced as he began gliding towards the misty mountains on the horizon.

##########

"This is Iruka Sensei's writing?" Ino asked in realisation as she looked at the scroll given to her from Tsunade.

The woman smirked, "Iruka's notes on the advanced steps. It's basically all the theory he put together after studying the Second's training method to help magnify elemental manipulation of water. You're going to memorise it before you pass it on to Temari and then Tenten." Tsunade said as she sat back in her booth and looked around, "Where are they anyway?"

Ino giggled as she opened the scroll, "I think Temari was interrogating Ten-chan about her and Kankuro," Ino began before trailing off as she read through the 'check list' which described the indepth Chakra balancing exercises that makes one a bender, "...Do I really need to stay in water for six hours?" she asked.

Tsunade shrugged, "That's how he did it. But Naruto didn't spend time burning, so how do you think he did that step?"

Ino pouted in thought before turning and looking out the window, "Maybe… the sunlight? it's light from a fire, it gives heat off right?" Ino theorised.

Tsunade blinked before looking outside, "Huh… that's actually a pretty good reason, maybe it has influenced him a bit." Tsunade said. Ino smiled at Tsunade before going back to reading the scroll. Tsunade smirked at Ino as the girl began to study, 'With a work ethic like that she would've made a great medic.'

##########

"A guy?" Tenten asked in surprise as she formed hand seals.

"Yeah!" Temari shouted as her fan snapped open and she swung it, "If you and Kankuro are serious about this then I don't wanna sit around seeing it!"

"EARTH SHORE RETURN!" Tenten shouted as a slab of rock lifted up and blocked Temari's wind attacks, "So that gives you the idea of getting me to set you up with one of my friends?" Tenten asked as she leaped up onto her defence and began throwing kunai.

Temari spun while using her fan to create a funnel, shielding her from the weapon onslaught, "Well yeah! By the time this mission of mine is done I'm going to have spent ages with you guys, half of it back in the Leaf Village too. That gives you enough time to get to know me and think of a guy back in the Leaf who's good!" Temari said with a grunt as she lifted her fan in one hand, sending the wind funnel up through the air before it twisted towards Tenten.

Tenten knelt and punched the rock below her – her limited earth manipulation skills allowing her hand to sink through the surface as though it was mud before the rock hardened around her fist once more – allowing her to hold her ground so that the buffeting winds couldn't blow her away, "Fine!" she shouted over the sound of the wind, "I hope you like normal-ish guys with unexpected eccentricities because Konoha sure is full of them!"

Temari swung her fan once more, creating a wind blade that rocked towards the funnel that surrounded Tenten, "Like Suna is any better! All I get there are fanboys cause I'm the 'princess' of the village."

Tenten pulled her hand free of the stone, allowing the wind funnel to throw her up and over the wind blade, "You got a deal! As long as you give me some advice on how to keep Kankuro interested!" She said as she landed in a crouch from her flip only to have Temari standing over her with her fan reared back.

Temari grinned, "As long as you show interest in his weirdness with puppets I think you'll have him hooked, who knows? Maybe you'll learn a thing or two about weapons from us in the sand."

Tenten smirked as her fingers twitched, "Maybe I already have!"

Temari raised a brow before the shine of metal caught her eye, causing her to turn and stare in surprise as Tenten's previously thrown kunai were hovering around her head, "He showed you how to use Chakra Strings?" she asked in surprise.

Tenten grinned, "Got ya! Ha!"

#########

Naruto landed with a slide on the surface of the lake at the end of the river, he looked around the misty terrain with his Uzugan, scanning for any sort of difference in landscape or design….

Naruto pouted, 'This place is drowning in nature Chakra… how am I supposed to see if anything is different?' he thought as he walked across the water.

Naruto raised a brow as he saw another source of Chakra, but rather then being curious about it, his eyes widened in realisation, "Hold on… this isn't Nature Chakra…."

Suddenly, the water underneath him began to writhe and whirl before it burst up from underneath him and threw him into the air.

Naruto flipped through the air to right himself as his eyes took in all the details around him once more.

Two men, one coming at him from underwater while one stood at the lake's edge. Both of them wore matching cloaks, but unlike the man covering his face in the distance, the man rising at Naruto from underwater was easily recognisable, 'The Monster of the Bloody Mist, S-ranked Ninja, Kisame Hoshigaki!'

Kisame grinned as the water pushed him up towards Naruto, swinging his sword at Naruto to slash his legs.

Naruto's Uzugan span as he disappeared in a Shunshin, arriving on the shoreline furthest away from the unknown enemy, but as he felt a fluctuation of Chakra behind him, he realised the man had somehow copied his Shunshin and appeared right behind him. Naruto ducked underneath the kick at the back of his head, only for the collar of his jacket to be gripped and swung, throwing him back out over the water towards Kisame.

Naruto punched towards the approaching swordsman as Kisame rushed at him from the water, launching a small flame that forced the much more skilled ex-Mist Ninja to guard from it with his sword.

Naruto used the moment to bite his thumb and run the blood over his Summoning Tattoo while channelling Chakra to his feet.

Naruto's feet stuck to the water for a moment before leaping into the air, "SUMMONING JUTSU!"

**POOF**

"Fly Kaze!" Naruto shouted as Kitakaze appeared and the two began to fly away.

"WATER STYLE: EXPLOSIVE WATER SHOCKWAVE!"

Before either Naruto of Kaze could react, a massive volume of water crashed down on them and put the both of them underneath the lake's surface.

Naruto looked at Kaze as the two were separated, seeing the Pegasus being washed further away from him, he clapped his hands together to end the Summoning, but Kisame used this time to swim at him at an incredible rate and land a punch to his gut.

Naruto coughed up the majority of his air from the hit, but seeing Kisame circling around once more – this time with his sword leading the way – Naruto rushed to grip the right side of his Weapon Scroll just in time.

**POOF**

Kisame grinned as his sword Samehada was blocked by Kubikiri Bocho, 'Well this just got more interesting!' he thought as his force from the swimming charge pushed the two of them through the water at an alarming rate.

Naruto angled the sword so that he was pushed towards the lake's surface, just barely getting the time to catch his breath before Kisame burst from the water in front of him.

**CLANG**

Naruto's eyes span as he used his Uzugan to keep track of Kisame's fast and powerful slashes, but seeing an opening, Naruto seallessly activated his Shunshin technique and punched Kisame square in the face.

Kisame stumbled back in surprise, but Naruto was even more surprised that the man wasn't launched away from the impact of the punch, "Damn kid!"

Naruto slid across the water's surface and took a stance as the other cloaked figure appeared next to Kisame, both of them lowering their stances as they faced Naruto together, "What do you want? Why are you doing this?" Naruto shouted.

Kisame grinned as he hoisted his sword onto his shoulder, "Why should we tell you anything?" Kisame asked with a chuckle.

The other man raised his hand to take off the straw hat that was hiding his face, causing Naruto's eyes to widen in surprise, happiness and fear as his blue gaze met the red gaze of the man facing him with a dead expression.

"Hello… Naruto."

"… Itachi?"

##########

Chapter End.


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter Twenty Four: Red Dawn and a Snow White Dusk

"Hello… Naruto."

Naruto stared at the Sharingan eyes of Itachi as his grip on Kubikiri Bocho shook. Naruto's left eye began to cry of it's own accord as Naruto's teeth gritted tightly, "...Itachi?" Naruto asked softly.

Kisame raised a brow before glancing to his shorter companion, "You know the kid?"

Itachi watched Naruto silently for a moment before shaking his head, "I knew Naruto Uzumaki… I knew his Chakra signature like I knew that of my ex-comrades back in Konoha… and this boy is not him."

Kisame's stance faltered as Naruto watched nervously, "What do ya mean? This is the only 'Naruto' from the Leaf that's about the right age."

Naruto felt a pulse of Chakra from Itachi, like he was activating a Genjutsu that Naruto wasn't being affected by, "If you tell me why you're here maybe I can help?" Naruto asked as he stepped back.

Kisame sighed heavily, "Oi kid! Are you Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze or not?"

Naruto blinked in surprise, 'Namikaze? They even know about my biological parents?' he thought before shaking his head, "Naruto Senju! My name is Senju!" he shouted in return.

Kisame sighed again before resting is sword on his back, "What the hell Itachi? I thought we were going off your intel, you've never gotten something like this wrong before."

Itachi turned his gaze to Kisame, "Kisame… I'll stay with the boy and question him, I want you to see if there's any mention of Uzumaki is in that nearby village. But be warned, if what this one says about being a Senju is true… a Sannin may be near." Itachi said calmly.

Kisame scoffed before pointing at Naruto with his sword, "Jinchuuriki or not, I wanna fight this kid! He's clearly copied at least part of the Bloody Mist Style of Kenjutsu from Zabuza, and I haven't fought against one of the Seven Swords for a long time." he said with a grin.

Naruto couldn't hide the gulp, 'They know about my status as a Jinchuuriki… but Itachi clearly hasn't said anything… so this group knows I survived somehow from that beating years ago, but they only have theories as to where I could've gone.' Naruto thought as he tightened his shaky grip on Kubikiri Bocho.

Itachi dropped his hat to the ground before he stepped onto the water, "Naruto Senju… we need to talk." Itachi said as he calmly approached Naruto.

Kisame grinned before turning towards the river leading back to town. He leaped onto the water's surface, surfing away at high speeds using a technique that Naruto couldn't help but copy with his Uzugan.

Seeing Kisame slowly disappear into the distance, Naruto refocussed on Itachi as the man stopped walking only a few meters from Naruto.

Naruto glared at Itachi, waiting for a sign of attack.

After a few moments of silence, Itachi smiled, "I'm glad to see you are okay Naruto-kun, tell me, what of Sasuke? And how is your team handling Orochimaru's seal?"

Naruto's stance faltered at his casual politeness, "Umm… Weasel-san..." Naruto shook his head, "I mean, Itachi… what the hell is going on?!"

##########

Ino looked up as if hearing something before she shivered, "That's some weird Chakra."

Tsunade raised a brow at Ino before frowning, "You're a Sensor right? Most from the Yamanaka Clan are."

Ino nodded, "Yeah, and it's like… the better I get with my Water Chakra, the more of a…" she looked off again with a frown, "I dunno, it's easier to feel the Chakra around me… Tsunade-Sensei, someone who has more Chakra then even you is coming into town."

Tsunade frowned as she stood, "Ino, let's go find the girls. Then you three tell Naruto to catch up before I go see who this person is."

"Yes ma'am!"

##########

"An actress?" Kakashi asked Hiruzen in surprise.

The Old man chuckled before turning and nodding to Shizune, the woman smiling and lifting up the mission scroll to Kakashi, "Miss Yukie Fujikaze. Her manager Sandayu has requested the 'Great Copy Ninja' specifically for this mission as he had heard of your exploits in the Land of Snow before and trusts you to get them all in and out safely."

Kakashi sighed before accepting the scroll, "Well, a mission is a mission, no matter how annoying it may end up."

Hiruzen chuckled, "Yes but that was many years ago Kakashi, and Sandayu has spent a large amount of money making sure it's you so please, try not to complain to much around the clients."

Kakashi shrugged, "No promises," he said with an eye smile before pocketing the scroll, "Rank?"

"A-rank." Shizune said with a smile.

Kakashi's eye smile seemed to get bigger, "Ah good, then I get to choose the team."

##########

Naruto shook his head in disbelief, "You can't… this plan of yours… what if you die Itachi?" Naruto asked as Itachi finished telling Naruto his secret plan.

Itachi nodded, "I am prepared for that outcome Naruto."

"But why?" Naruto asked, "You're a great Shinobi Itachi, but this plan has a lot of variables that you can't control. If your plan actually has YOU in it then you could force those variables into place, why would you make a suicide plan for no reason?!"

Itachi's small smile came back, "Because I have a disease Naruto."

Naruto was stunned silent again by Itachi's words, "Then… let me help you, I'm a medic now, Kaa-san even says I'm as good as most Jonin medics."

Itachi chuckled lightly, "Naruto… no medics have found a way to reverse this disease in history. It's rotting my lungs from the inside."

"Then I'll get you donor lungs!" Naruto shouted as he smiled in realisation, "Look, I'll extract a Gem of your Chakra and some blood, give me time to research and just maybe I'll have something when this whole ruse with the Akatsuki comes to a close, maybe I can help?"

Itachi tilted his head slightly as he watched Naruto, seemingly contemplating him before Itachi's soft smile came back, "If it'll ease your mind then sure. But remember Naruto-kun, only your family and Hiruzen know the truth behind that night, none of this can be revealed to anyone else."

Naruto grinned and nodded, "Yeah! I swear Itachi, I've kept quiet this whole time, no way I'm spilling the secret now."

Itachi raised his hand to Naruto palm up, allowing the boy to step closer as he put formed a series of hand seals before pressing his fingers into Itachi's palm.

Itachi didn't even flinch as he watched Naruto work with a smile, "You've become a fine young man Naruto-kun. I hope we can meet in the future… without Kisame needing to be placated first." Itachi said.

Naruto extracted a Chakra Gem from Itachi and nodded, "Me too, but how come you got paired with that guy anyway? I mean, considering the information you gave me, wouldn't you have been better off paired with Immortal Kakuzu of Waterfall? or Sasori of the Red Sands?"

Itachi nodded, "Kakuzu and I… he's in it for the money and continues to kill whoever the Leader puts him with. Suffice to say, we don't get along. And Sasori has a… habit, of trying to kill people with bloodlines so he could add them to his puppet army collection."

Naruto hummed in thought, "So that's why Kakuzu is with Father Hidan of the Jashinist faith? But… why was Orochimaru with Sasori? Let alone Deidara the Bomber, I don't get it."

Itachi chuckled, "I know what you mean, I have wondered why Leader has forced Sasori to be with those who seem to cause the most problems but… I feel there is some reasoning behind it."

Naruto grasped the Gem as it finished forming and put it into his pouch, but instead of healing Itachi's hand, he reached into his medic belt to grab a patch and press it into Itachi's wound.

Itachi's smile faded as he watched Naruto take a sample of his blood, activating another Ninjutsu so make exact clones of the small amount of blood and store it inside the patch for later, "One more thing Naruto-kun..."

Naruto put the patch back in his pouch before smiling up at Itachi, "What is it?"

Itachi's eyes flashed red, causing Naruto to suddenly feel dizzy, "Our Leader has a Doujutsu similar to the Sharingan. If he ever sees you, he'll see through your Genjutsu without even trying. But the only reason he'd search himself, is if he had an idea where you really are… try not to use the fox's Chakra, but if you do, the restricted form of it through your Curse Seal is the safest way at this point with a chance of him not knowing."

Naruto's eyes began to feel heavy, "You… got me with a Genjutsu?"

Itachi shook his head as he caught Naruto since the boy's water walking was beginning to diminish along with his consciousness, "The Genjutsu from earlier was for our onlooker. This is just a minor Ninjutsu, one I recommend you learn in the near future, it's in the Konoha Library."

Naruto smiled weakly, "Thanks… Weasel-san… be safe."

Itachi lifted Naruto as the boy fell limp, beginning to carry him to the shore line with a soft smile on his face as he recalled being in the same position years earlier, carrying the boy out of Konoha, "You started this path with me Naruto, it is I who will keep you safe..."

Naruto's vision faded to black as Itachi placed him down on the ground gently, leaving something by his side before Itachi stood.

"Good luck… Naruto-kun."

##########

Kisame burst from the water, landing on the edge of the main dock of the Land of Waves, "Woah, nice place." he said with a grin as he walked through the stunned crowd of people.

The sailors and other workers on the docks stared at him in surprise as he casually walked through the crowd, not caring in the slightest that he was being seen since the best way to flush out his prey, was to make it panic and take action.

"Umm, excuse me?"

Kisame turned and grinned at the man who had addressed him, "Something you need?" Kisame asked with a chuckle.

The man flinched as if Kisame had threatened him, "Y-You need papers for permission to enter from the docks."

Kisame reached into his pocket and pulled out a scroll, "This has thousands of Explosive Tags sealed inside and it's the only papers I got, you want me to let em all out here and now?" Kisame asked with a wicked grin.

The man shook his head, "N-No sir! I-I'll just umm, welcome to the Southern Port." he said nervously as he stepped out of Kisame's path.

Kisame chuckled as he put his scroll away, 'Gullible, weak fools, the lot of them.'

##########

"He's not in his room! There were clones but they dispelled just as we were about to talk," Tsunade shouted as she stepped into the hallway of the building they had been staying in, "Ino!"

Ino stepped into the hallway from the stairwell she was about to run down, "Doesn't that mean he was rendered unconscious? Where is he?"

Tsunade frowned, "Ino, I'm going to have to leave you to get the girls and go find him. With your natural Sensing skills and Temari's and Tenten's experience you should be able to track him down. Got it?"

Ino nodded, "But Tsunade-Sensei, what if he's hurt?"

Tsunade's eyes hardened, "Then I'll remove those who hurt my boy after I check out that Chakra signature… it's so bloodthirsty that even I can feel it now." she said with a scowl before turning to the window at the opposite end of the hallway.

Ino watched as Tsunade sprinted away in a blur before smashing through the window and disappearing at tremendous speed, 'Sensei...' Ino thought in concern before she nodded to herself seriously, 'I will do my best!'

##########

"What was that about?"

Itachi turned to the tree next to him as he paused in his slow approach towards the Land of Waves, "You didn't hear us?"

Zetsu of the Akatsuki stepped out of the tree, "You guys were in the middle of a lake for most of it, I thought you caught him for us when you knocked him out, what gives?"

Itachi shook his head, "The boy's Chakra wasn't demonic, it was another of Orochimaru's dark seals at work. That boy was Naruto Senju, not Uzumaki."

Zetsu sighed, "Well, guess I better go inform Leader-sama… I'll have to start searching all over again."

Itachi nodded, "May I suggest the Land of Tea? It would be logical that a boy his age would be able to hide in the more civilian heavy areas of the nation."

Zetsu began to meld back into the tree, "Careful Itachi, one would think you're scheming if they didn't know your true reason for joining our cause..."

Itachi silently began to walk away, hiding his slight scowl at Zetsu's veiled threat, 'As long as I fight with the Akatsuki… Konoha will be safe from your wrath… I know all to well about Leader's plans for me, but it does not matter in the long run.'

##########

"Guys!"

Tenten and Temari paused in their spar – tonfa against fan in a push for strength – and turned to Ino in surprise, "Ino-chan? What's the fuss?" Tenten asked, knowing it took a lot to rattle the Yamanaka girl… well, unless it was hot gossip.

Ino slid to a stop in the clearing, "We gotta find Naruto! he's not in his room!"

Temari shrugged, "So? he's a strong guy, he can handle himself."

Ino frowned at Temari as the girl shouldered her fan, "Look, I sensed some Chakra that even set Tsunade-Sensei on edge! Temari, weren't you the tracker of your team? And Ten-chan, you watched how Neji did it for a whole year before the exams! How do we find him?"

Temari sighed before looking to Tenten, "I can follow his Air Path with one of my techniques, but I actually need to be standing where he was at some point."

Tenten grinned as she sealed away her tonfa, "Umm, not to overthink it or anything, but he was thumbing that envelope of his from the moment Tsunade-Sensei said we'd be leaving from the Land of waves port."

"Envelope?" Ino asked with a raised brow as Temari mirrored her expression.

Tenten nodded, "Yeah, is that important?"

Temari shrugged, "It means that he had a plan or some information concerning this place, has he been here before?"

Ino smirked, "Yes! Tazuna! We need to find Tazuna-san's family and ask what the envelope is about!"

Temari shrugged, "Or I could summon my weasels? There's a reason I was the team's tracker."

Tenten and Ino blinked at eachother before staring at Temari, ""Then DO IT!""

#########

"Ah good to see you two are well," Kakashi greeted with an eye-smile as his selected team approached his table, "Welcome to the Ancient Oak, have either of you had the pleasure of dining here before?"

Hinata and Sasuke took the other two chairs surrounding the small round table, "Good to see you too Sensei!" Hinata exclaimed excitedly as she smiled at him from behind her headband.

Sasuke nodded with a yawn to Kakashi before he shrugged, "Never heard of the place until Pakkun told me to find you here."

"Ditto!" Hinata said, earning an eye smile from Kakashi at their familiar attitude.

"Well just so you know, if you ever need to have private or mission related meetings, this whole bar has special seals to allow for each table to have their own little bubble to stop any sound from escaping. Also, we do our best not to show this place to anyone that's not a Konoha Shinobi of at least Chunnin rank." Kakashi explained as he put a hand to the middle of the table, showing a specialised Silencing Seal engraved in the wood.

Sasuke raised a brow before looking around, "Hn…. that's pretty smart." he mumbled as he lowered his shades to look around the now dead-silent room.

Hinata lifted up the menu sitting on the table, "So… is this a secret meeting or can we get a drink?" she asked with a soft smile.

Sasuke raised a brow as he noticed the food on the menu, "Imma get some chicken nuggets." he said with a smirk.

Kakashi chuckled at the two, "Go ahead you guys, I already had lunch today." he said as he leaned back to wave towards one of the waiters.

The man walked over, his hair and clothes ruffling as he stepped into the Sealed off area around the table, "How can I help you?"

"Nuggets… and some water." Sasuke said with a smirk as he straightened his shades.

Hinata pouted in thought as she looked over the drinks before she nodded, "I would like a hot chocolate please!"

The man blinked at them in slight surprise before shrugging and writing their orders, "It'll be ready soon, and for you sir?" he asked Kakashi.

Kakashi nodded, "Make it a water for the table instead of just for Sasuke."

The man nodded, "Yes sir, I'll bring the water first." he said with a bow before retreating out of the bubble.

Kakashi eye smiled at his students before taking a scroll from his pocket, "Alright team, you wanna hear about an A-rank we have?"

Hinata nodded in excitement before lowering the headband from her eyes, "Sure! But did you hear about our last mission Sensei?"

Kakashi nodded, "Ah yes, the Todoroki Shrine Race? I hear the two of you did exceptionally well with leading your first mission. Do you think that's a fair assessment?"

Sasuke smirked, "I'd say so." he said confidently.

Kakashi eye smiled once more, "Good to know. Hinata?"

Hinata smiled excitedly, "Hai! There were some stressful moments, but with the team Sasuke-kun and I put together we even managed to return one of the Hokage's relics from nearly a decade ago."

Kakashi blinked before he hummed in recognition, "The Second Hokage's sword? That was you two?"

Hinata nodded proudly as Sasuke smirked, "Yeah!" Hinata said with a grin.

Kakashi chuckled and nodded, "Congratulations are in order then, that's an S-rank payment if I remember correctly right?"

Sasuke cleared his throat, "Sort of. It was split amongst three members of the team while Hinata kept the A-rank for Aoi Rokushi's bounty, that way we all had a near equal share of the bonus money."

Kakashi nodded again, "Good thinking, but I hope that hasn't made you overconfident. The mission I have for the three of us will be a strenuous one indeed. We're taking a somewhat famous actress to a port just south of the Land of Shores where we'll meet up with the whole film crew. It's at this point that we are to assess the overall threat of the mission and depending on those results we might reach out for assistance or we'll continue escorting our clientele for what remains of the movie's production in the Land of Snow."

Sasuke raised a brow, "Sounds pretty high profile, the client ever receive any threats?"

Kakashi shook his head as he put the mission scroll on the table for the duo, though Sasuke trusted Hinata enough with the details to leave it with her, "Not that I know of, but admittedly I haven't done any research into the matter."

Sasuke hummed, "So when do we leave?"

"Sandayu-san is the man who hired us," Hinata said as she read from the scroll she had lifted from the table, "We're to meet them at seven o'clock at the hotel they're staying at in Dogenzaka tomorrow morning. So as long as we leave by five this afternoon we'll make it there a little early assuming there's no trouble."

Sasuke nodded, "Sounds good to me, though we should ask Miss Fujikaze whether or not she knows of anyone with ill intent towards her when we meet her."

Kakashi nodded, "Good thinking Sasuke." he said before gesturing that the waiter was approaching them.

The trio went quiet as the waiter entered their bubble with the water for the table, "Your hot chocolate will be ready soon, the food is still a few minutes off."

Sasuke nodded as the waiter began to pour their drinks, "Kay, what are the rules on smoking in this establishment?"

The waiter finished pouring the third water before reaching up to the low hanging light, pressing against a button which activated a small ventilation fan, "Same as most bars in Konoha, just don't hotbox the place." the said with a polite bow before leaving the sound bubble.

Kakashi sighed as Sasuke began to roll himself a joint, "You couldn't wait until after?"

Hinata rolled her eyes, "He doesn't even wait until his morning alarm."

Sasuke shrugged, "Hn. You're not wrong." Sasuke said proudly.

##########

"I don't get it, he should've sensed my Chakra pushing against him by now."

Naruto's brow twitched, 'Tenten?'

"Hold on, I sense his Chakra kicking up again, give him space!"

Naruto felt a push of Chakra against his arm, causing his stored Medical Chakra to kick into gear and flow throughout his body. Naruto's eyes snapped open, "Ino?" Naruto asked as he recognised the girl who was holding his head in her lap.

Ino smiled down at Naruto before looking to the other two girls, "He'll be fine now, Temari, do you reckon you could find Tsunade-Sensei? I'm still a bit worried about her."

Temari nodded as she stood from her place kneeling by Naruto's side opposite Tenten, "No worries," she said before turning away, "Kamatari, you still have Tsunade-Sensei's scent right? It's the one scent the four of us have traces of all over us."

Naruto looked past Temari and raised a brow at the weasel that was somehow floating in the air on a small sickle, "Yes Princess Temari." he said before turning and beginning to float away at high speed.

Temari began to move off, "Tenten, back me up. You good here Ino? Naruto?"

Naruto nodded slowly as Ino spoke up, "Just go girls, I'll help him back to Wave." she said as she smiled down at a drained looking Naruto.

Tenten and Temari darted off towards the village after Kamatari as Naruto slowly sat up, "Ugh, that was one hell of a Ninjutsu. I didn't even see him do the hand seals I was focussed so much on the threat of his eyes..." Naruto mumbled.

Ino frowned in worry as she helped him onto his knees, "You mean someone did this to you? What happened?"

Naruto smiled at Ino, "A guy named Itachi, worked for… the Akatsuki or something."

Ino watched Naruto silently, her frown slowly growing bigger until she let out a heavy sigh, "Come on, let's get you back to the village."

##########

Kisame laughed excitedly at the woman who had just landed in front of him, "Well if it ain't the momma bear to the little distraction down the river, what did I do to deserve your gaze?"

Tsunade Senju smirked as she openly checked out Kisame, "Kisame Hoshigake right? The tadpole of the Hidden Mist or something?"

Kisame hoisted his sword into the air before stabbing the tip into the ground, causing the few people nearby to walk away quickly, "Why don't you come see what this tadpole can do Jugs? At least you'll be seeing your son soon when I send you to the other side."

Tsunade's eyes hardened, "Momma bear? Jugs? You can say whatever you want about me fishface," she said before her killing intent hit Kisame hard enough that the man actually flinched, "But if you don't tell me what you did with my boy I'll kill you, bring you back and kill you all over again."

Kisame forced a smirk onto his face, "I didn't do much, just tested his reflexes… it's Itachi that's been giving him some attention."

Tsunade's hard gaze softened slightly, unable to hide the slight emotional reaction from hearing the name of the man who gave her the chance of a new life. The man who brought her Naruto… she owed him everything, even if she had only talked to him once personally.

Kisame raised a brow, seeing her stance had faltered a nearly unnoticeable amount, 'Now!' Kisame thought as he knew to take Tsunade seriously, so he charged at the moment of weakness.

Tsunade tapped her heel on the ground, causing the tiles of the street they were standing on to quake loose before she lifted her foot, kicking a tile at Kisame.

Kisame barely stopped in time to block the tile before it could hit his face with the broadside of his blade. As he lowered his sword, he was already raising his other hand to form a hand seal, only for Tsunade's raised foot to crunch into his fingers with an axe kick.

Kisame registered the pain as his hand was broken. He barely lifted his sword to block the debris from her axe kick hitting the ground, 'Damn! Itachi really wasn't kidding about these Sannin guys!'

Tsunade threw a punch at Kisame, the man barely managing to block it with his sword.

The two came to a standstill as Tsunade's Chakra enhanced strength was completely nullified by Samehada's Chakra eating ability. Kisame grinned menacingly, "My turn girly."

Tsunade smirked before clicking with her other hand, the sheer pressure from the click creating a shock wave that pushed the two of them apart. Tsunade kicked another tile in the same movement, smashing it against his shin with bone-shattering force.

This time Kisame splashed down as water, showing that he was a clone, the blue man followed up his strike from his place appearing behind Tsunade, a wicked grin on his face as he attempted to hack her in half.

Sensing his movements, Tsunade was already facing him as he began his slash. She leaned backwards, allowing the sword to follow her closely as she barely grabbed Kisame's jacket sleeve and pulled the strike aside, only receiving a tiny slash on her bare forearm.

**BOOM**

Tsunade rolled away from the impact of Kisame's sword tearing up the ground, but unlike Kisame, who was taking the moment to assess the situation, Tsunade had gripped a handful of dirt and thrown it as his face.

Kisame was surprised by such a 'dirty' tactic, being blinded by the tactic. Tsunade's feet dug into the ground, allowing her to push forward and swing a punch before Kisame could react.

**BOOM**

Tsunade took a calming breath as Kisame was literally launched away like a bullet. Tsunade kept her gaze on his slowly shrinking silhouette until he was gone over the horizon, "Damn asshole. Hope that broken neck of yours takes you down."

"Unfortunately, he would've survived that as long he held onto his sword," Tsunade turned to look down an adjacent alleyway at Itachi as he addressed her, but before she could say anything he spoke up again, "Do not worry, I mean no harm. The target of the Akatsuki was not your son as we thought, he may be strong, but he's not a Jinchuuriki."

Tsunade frowned as she processed his words, 'He knows full well that Naruto is a Jinchuuriki… is someone from this Akatsuki listening in on us?' she thought.

Itachi stepped out of the alleyway, "Good day Tsunade-sama. I hope life treats you and your family well." he said as he began to walk down the road towards Kisame.

Tsunade stood tall, "Yeah… you're just lucky I care more about my son's safety then about some second-rate Shinobi."

Itachi smirked behind his collar as he put his straw hat back on, 'As do I Tsunade-sama….'

"EARTH STYLE!" Tenten shouted as she punched the ground upon her landing.

Itachi looked down in surprise as an earthen hand reached out of the ground to grip his ankle, 'An earth bending skill?' he thought before raising his head.

"SUMMONING: TRUE WIND SCYTHE JUTSU!"

Itachi looked past Tenten as Kamatari flew towards him dangerously, leading sickle first as it went to decapitate Itachi, 'Interesting.'

**POOF**

Tenten and Temari stared in surprise as Itachi disappeared in a plume of smoke, showing that he was never really there in the first place.

Kamatari disappeared in a matching plume of smoke as Tenten and Temari ran up to Tsunade, "Tsunade-sama!" Tenten shouted in worry.

"Are you okay?" Temari asked as she saw the cut on Tsunade's arm.

Tsunade forced a smile on her face before facing the two girls, "Yeah just a little scrape," she said as she completely dropped her fighter's stance, "Now, where's my boy?"

############

Ino supported Naruto with one of his arms over her shoulders and one of hers wrapped around his waist, "Geez Naruto, I didn't think you'd be this heavy!" Ino complained.

Naruto chuckled at Ino as they followed the river back towards town, "Well, I've upped my weights from the Chunnin exam, so it's not that surprising you've noticed."

Ino rolled her eyes at Naruto, "Yeah yeah, brag much?"

Naruto raised a brow, "Sorry, I'm not bragging… but maybe you could help me get them off and seal them away? The trip back would be much quicker." he said before moving to let go of Ino so that he could fall to the ground and take his weights off.

Ino on the other hand, thought he was falling for real, so try as she might to hold him up, she only managed to be pulled down on top of him with a shout of surprise.

Naruto blinked at Ino as the girl landed straddling his hips, "Umm… Sorry again." he mumbled awkwardly.

Ino did her best to suppress the blush that had climbed it's way onto her cheeks, "Just relax, I'll get these pesky weights off." she said nonchalantly as she leaned forward to reach his wrists, spread out as they were by his sides.

Naruto's Uzugan span as just for a moment he memorised the rocking movement of Ino as she reached to each arm, 'What the...' he thought as he turned his head away from her.

Ino unclasped the weights from around his wrists before turning around, allowing her face to express the embarrassment she felt once she had her back to his face, 'Just unclasp the ankle weights and move on...'

Naruto looked down at Ino's back, the girl _still _straddling him in what could only be described as a reverse cowgirl position, "Thanks Ino, I got it!" he sat as he sat up with enough speed and force to throw her off of him.

Ino shouted in surprise as she landed on her hands and knees, allowing Naruto to shuffle backwards and pick up the two wrist weights, "Naruto! I was just trying to help!" she said in surprise.

Naruto shakily stood up and sealed the weights away in a Storage Seal inside his Medic Pouch, "Like I said, thanks but umm, no need to mount me next time okay?"

Ino had just moved to pass Naruto his ankle weights as he spoke, causing her to blush even heavier even though she appeared mostly angry, "I-I didn't! You pulled me on top of you!" she said before going to pick up the weights to throw them at him.

Naruto couldn't help the slight smile as she angrily attempted to pick up his weights, only to nearly fall over when she barely lifted one off the ground before dropping it, "I got it Ino."

Ino stood glaring at the back of Naruto's head as he knelt to lift up each weight one at a time, sealing them away with his wrist weights before he turned his Medic Pouch back to it's original position, 'Stupid sexy Naruto!' she thought as she went to kick him in the rear.

Naruto stood just as Ino let loose her kick, causing her to accidentally kick him in the crotch from behind. Naruto's eyes widened in silent pain as he fell to his knees once more, "I-Ino!" he gasped in surprise as he held himself in pain.

Ino's anger dissipated as her actions caught up to her mind, "S-sorry!" she exclaimed as she began to help him get ready to walk ahead again.

Naruto shook his head as the pain from the kick cleared his head of every other thought, he allowed Ino to help him to his feet before he formed a single handed seal in concentration.

And in a blur, the two vanished.

##########

Naruto and Ino reappeared inside Naruto's room, the two blondes landing back first on Naruto's bed. Naruto allowed himself to relax as much as he could with his weapon scroll underneath his lower back, "I'm gonna need to rest Ino," Naruto wheezed out as he pulled on the rope belt to detach the scroll from his back, "Go tell the others I'm fine, but I need to speak to Kaa-san."

Ino quickly jumped off the bed, "I'm not your messenger girl!" she exclaimed before storming out of his room and slamming the door behind her.

Naruto sighed in relief as he rolled to the side, allowing the weapons scroll to roll off the edge of the bed and come to a stop on the floor, 'Damn, Ino did more damage then Kisame and Itachi did.' he thought as he breathed slowly.

##########

**SLAM**

Ino barely managed to suppress her embarrassed blush as she stepped into the hallway.

"Wow, someone got you emotional didn't they?"

Ino looked up in surprise as Tenten spoke to her, causing Temari and Tsunade to step back out into the hallway from their shared room, "He's fine! Shut up!" she exclaimed before storming past Tenten and entering their shared room.

Tenten blinked in surprise at her actions before glancing at Temari and Tsunade questioningly. Temari just smirked knowingly before Tsunade spoke up, "I'll talk to Naruto. I want you girls to rest up for dinner tonight. Be packed and ready to leave by six so that we can get an early dinner and head to bed. Tazuna-san has purchased our tickets for the first cruise tomorrow morning to the Land of Snow so that we'll get there around nightfall."

Tenten nodded, "I'll pass on the message to Ino." she said with a sigh before moving to their room.

Temari watched Tsunade move into the hallway and towards Naruto's room, "Tell Naruto if he needs anything I'll try to help out." Temari said politely.

Tsunade nodded with a smile, "I will, go get some rest." she ordered before entering Naruto's room.

##########

"Alrighty team," Kakashi said as he approached the gate an hour later then planned, "Are we good to go?"

Sasuke frowned at Kakashi before breathing out a cloud of smoke, "You haven't changed a bit Sensei, don't know why I thought you might've by now." he mumbled before refocussing on his smoke.

Hinata seemed content laying on the back of one of her smaller mammoths, "We're ready Sensei, let's gooo!" she exclaimed as her mammoth let out what appeared to be a yawn.

Kakashi eye smiled, "Okay okay, but if we want to make it on time like Hinata planned we're really going to have to kick it into high gear."

Hinata's mammoth sneezed out a 'small' amount of snow, covering Kakashi in it from the chest down, "Sorry not sorry." Hinata said with a shrug before her mammoth disappeared in a plume of smoke.

Kakashi sighed as Sasuke chuckled at him, "You guys need to cool off," he said with a smirk at his pun while the two Chunnin frowned at him, "Besides, we gotta go, right?"

Sasuke turned and leaped into the trees as he stomped the last of his smoke out. Blatantly ignoring Kakashi as he leaped off.

Hinata stuck her tongue out at Kakashi before following after Sasuke, causing Kakashi to chuckle, "Ah my cute little students, so impatient." he said with an eye smile before moving to catch up to them.

##########

"So let me get this straight," Tsunade mumbled as she sat at the foot of Naruto's bed, "They attacked you to try and confirm who you were? And Itachi was playing dumb until it was just you and him talking in private..."

Naruto nodded with a yawn as he lay down, "Yeah, also he mentioned something called Akatsuki? Said they had a leader or something?" Naruto asked rhetorically before sighing, "And… well he asked me not to share his plan, but… he's sick Kaa-san."

Tsunade raised a brow, "Sick? What do you mean?"

Naruto reached into the pouch he had put next to his bed and took out Itachi's Gem, "I extracted this from him, I'm not sure whether or not he'd accept my help even if we did find a cure, but… I have to try right? He said… he's going to die..." Naruto mumbled as he looked to his mother for guidance.

Tsunade smiled softly as she placed a hand on his shoulder, "Keep it Naruto," she said as she closed Naruto's hand around the Gem, "He's trusted you enough to tell you what he could and even give his only chance of surviving this illness to you. I'll help you all I can but truly… this is your challenge Naruto-chan."

Naruto did his best to ignore the tears in his eyes, "Kaa-san… what if I can't save him?"

Tsunade sat in silence for a moment as Naruto's tears began to spill, "Naruto-chan… why do you think that's even a possibility?"

Naruto sighed and dropped Itachi's Gem onto his bedside table, "He said that it's incurable. If noone else has done it before what hope could I have to do it? It's impossible..."

Tsunade couldn't help but smirk slightly at that, "Like it's impossible for a teenager to have mastered the Herculean Strength technique? Impossible just means someone hasn't done it yet. Anything can be achieved if you just give it all you've got."

Naruto chuckled lightly at her words, "...It used to be impossible to heal people… then the Senju discovered medical Chakra..."

"Exactly," Tsunade said before leaning down and hugging Naruto gently, "You can do this, and if you need help, you have Shizune, Hinata and I to help you through. Even the girls here already look up to you, I'm sure that in time you'll be able to look to them in the same way you look to Hinata-chan."

Naruto blushed lightly at that, "U-Umm… sure."

Tsunade raised a brow at his tone before sitting back up and looking at Naruto in silence. Naruto's blush got slightly heavier, causing Tsunade's eyes to widen knowingly, "Naruto Senju… just _what way _do you look at our Hinata-hime, huh?" she said teasingly.

Naruto's blush just grew even heavier, causing Tsunade to laugh.

##########

"If she's laughing that means that everything is ok right?" Tenten asked Temari as the two crouched near Naruto's door.

Temari nodded, "I guess so…" she mumbled before standing, "Ino! You can stop worrying now!"

Tenten turned to see Ino had jumped in surprise from her place in the doorway to her and Tenten's room, "Worrying? Hah! No way!" she shouted before slamming the door.

Tenten laughed at Ino's reaction before hearing more movement inside the room, "Move!" she whispered suddenly as Temari and her dashed back to their rooms.

##########

##########

##########

"Sandayu-san I assume?"

Sandayu and the hooded person sitting across from him at the table looked up at Kakashi's voice. Team 7 had arrived at Dogenzaka and immediately moved around the city, managing to find their clients a couple of hours before the assigned time in an upscale restaurant on the edge of town.

The man stood in surprise, "Kakashi-san! It's good to make your acquaintance," he said as he ushered for the man to sit down at one of the two other available seats, "Is this your team?"

Kakashi sat down next to Sandayu as Hinata took a seat next to the hooded person, "Sandayu-san, this is Hinata, and just out the window there is Sasuke." Kakashi said, causing the clients to look outside and see Sasuke wave up to them while having a smoke.

"Well," Sandayu began, "It's good to meet the three of you. This is the actress Yuki Fujikaze, she's the one who you'll be guarding."

Hinata turned to the hooded woman by her side, "It's a pleasure to meet you Yuki-san." she said politely.

Yuki sighed and lowered her hood, "Yeah..." she mumbled before focussing on the drink in front of her.

Kakashi eye smiled to cover up his true reaction, 'That necklace… this mission isn't what it seems.' he thought curiously before facing Sandayu once more, "Please, what time will we be shipping out?"

Sandayu smiled, "Well we actually have a private vessel as well as the main ship for the rest of the crew, props, outfits and whatever else the Director needs to bring, so the moment the director for the movie says so we'll be leaving for the Land of Shores where the vessel is ready and waiting. Since you're early we might be able to head off sooner then expected."

Kakashi nodded, "Ah good, why don't we go tell him so once you finish your tea?"

##########

"Woah!" Ino exclaimed as Team Tsunade stepped onto the deck of the Wave Cruise Ship, "This is amazing!"

Tazuna laughed proudly as he ushered forward the group, leading them towards the stern of the vessel, "This is the first ship we have in wave's new business of Holiday Cruises, you guys are lucky enough to be on it's maiden voyage from the Land of Waves to the Lands of Snow, Shores and finally the Crescent Moon Isles before making the return journey here." Tazuna explained throughout their walk.

Naruto paused in surprise as he noticed someone he was familiar with, "Oh! Hikaru-san!" Naruto exclaimed, causing Tsunade and the others to pause.

Hikaru Zulu – the captain that Naruto extracted from Gato's regime the first time round – turned to Naruto with a wide smile, "Oh! Naruto!"

Tazuna grinned as he walked up to Naruto as Hikaru stepped out onto the deck, "Captain Zulu! how's the ship looking?"

Naruto smiled at Captain Zulu as the man straightened his white sailors jacket, "She's in perfect condition and everything is ready to launch Tazuna-san. Just waiting for the green light from the coastguard."

"You got a job here? As Captain?" Naruto asked happily.

Zulu nodded, "That I did lad, are you staying with us for the whole trip? Or getting off at one of the ports?"

Naruto blinked before looking over at Tsunade, "Umm… I'm not quite sure, Kaa-san! what's the go here?"

Tsunade smirked, "You'll find out Naruto-chan. Just know that we'll be using each stop to the fullest for the week we have there."

Tazuna blinked in confusion before looking at the Captain, "Only a week? Are you sure?"

Zulu shrugged, "We estimate a week while counting in all the checks of the system. We want to make sure everything is in perfect condition since this is the maiden voyage. If something goes wrong it might even be longer depending on the problem. Either way, the customers have already paid for their holiday knowing these variables, so there should be no inter-personal issues."

Tazuna laughed, "Well alright then! It looks like you've got everything handled!"

The group covered their ears as the ships's horn blew, except for Zulu who laughed at their reaction, "Unless you want to be aboard when we leave Tazuna-san I suggest you head off, that's the ten minute warning."

Tazuna nodded as he turned to the others, "It's been super having you guys here, I'll make sure you have a place to stay when you get back."

Tsunade surprised Tazuna by pulling him into a hug, "Thanks Tazuna, it's been _super _meeting you." she said with a smile.

Tazuna grinned as he reached into his pocket, "Took the words out of my mouth sweet heart," he said with a chuckle, "I actually got you a little goodbye gift." Tsunade's smile grew as Tazuna gave her a flask with a little bow tied around the neck, "From our new trade with the Land of Water, I hope you enjoy it."

Tsunade grinned and hugged the man again.

Naruto scowled, "I don't like how close those two are getting." he mumbled.

Temari nudged his side with her elbow, "Now you know how I felt when Tenten started flirting with my brother."

##########

"What do you mean she's run away?!" Sandayu shouted as the crew piled onto the vessel awaiting them at dock number one of the Land of Shores.

Kakashi sighed, 'Fantastic.' he thought before he stood, "Hinata, get Sasuke and meet me on the dock." Kakashi mumbled, knowing that Hinata would be able to read his lips from no matter where she was on the ship.

Within moments the two Chunnin caught up to Kakashi, all three Shinobi meeting up at the dock the ship was connected to, "What's the deal Sensei?" Sasuke asked as he lifted his sunglasses.

"Miss Yuki ran away," Kakashi said with another sigh, "Now I want Hinata to go run the perimeter of the town and see if there's any signs she left. Sasuke, go search the road back towards Dogenzaka and see if there're any signs that she bailed on the way here. If there's nothing, we'll check the shadier establishments in the area."

"Kakashi-san!" Sandayu shouted as he ran down to the team, "She's-"

Kakashi cut him off, "We know. Hold the ship until midnight, not sure how long it'll take but hopefully we'll be able to set sail before that time comes. If not, then we can just take the second ship in the morning with the editors and Yuki's personal troupe."

##########

"Attention everyone, this is the Captain speaking," Zulu's voice echoed throughout the vessel, "If you'll look off our bow you will see the first icebergs of the Land of Snow! Please remember that if you're staying out after dark that you'll need to rug up!"

Naruto grinned as he stood at the top of the front-most smokestack, "Now that's a beautiful sight!" he said to himself as his Uzugan memorised the image of the sunlight sinking behind the snow covered bergs in the distance.

"Wow!"

Naruto looked down at the Gennin girls as they leaped up to join him, "I've never seen a white dusk before!" Temari exclaimed with a wide smile.

Tenten dropped next to Naruto and took a seat, "Awesome." she murmured with a grin.

Ino grinned in excitement, but kept her thoughts to herself as she subconsciously moved a hand to the scroll in her pocket, 'If I finish step one here in the Land of Snow, Iruka-Sensei can have me on the last step by the end of the mission. It might be troublesome as Shika-baka would say, but I'm strong enough to do this!'

Naruto glanced at Ino's sudden posture change and smirked knowingly, 'Looks like someone's stepping up her game. About time!'

#########

Chapter End.

Yo! here we go again :) sorry for the less action-packed sequence but some plots gotta be sorted out here haha

Tell me what you like and don't like, and I'd like to hear your views on Naruto's situation so feel free to share :)

Anyway please R&amp;R! Alky out!


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter Twenty-Five: Welcome to the Land of Snow

"Port sighted!" Naruto shouted with a grin.

The shout echoed throughout the staff on the vessel all the way up to the Captain, "Make for port!"

The boat's horn sounded loudly, informing everyone aboard that they were only an hour or so from their destination. Naruto leaped down from the smoke stack, landing with a roll before he jogged to the front of the vessel to join the team, "Are we ready for the mission Kaa-san?"

Tsunade turned to Naruto and grinned, "You bet'cha! First thing we're going to do is head straight to the capitol and if we're lucky our lodgings will be taken care of there. Either way, unless something goes terribly wrong, we'll be done in a day or two and then we can focus on your training again."

Ino turned to Tsunade with a shocked expression, "Does that mean our training is on hold for now?"

Tsunade laughed, "Hell no! It just means I expect you to get in your five hours in your own time!"

Temari laughed alongside Tsunade, more than used to be pushed beyond her limits in training, "That also means we get to sleep in a cosier bed right? I get that we're bunking together out of mission necessity but you can't blame a girl for wanting a little luxury."

"Says the princess of Suna!" Tenten exclaimed while sticking her tongue out at Temari.

"Girls focus for a sec!" Naruto exclaimed, "Let's all go get ready so we can depart straight away yeah?"

"No way!" Tenten shouted, "One last buffet run!" she shouted before running off.

"I'm with you Naruto," Ino said with a sigh, "I gotta get as much training in as I can." she mumbled to herself before walking away, grabbing a water bottle from a service table as she passed it.

Naruto smirked before looking at Temari, "You coming?"

Temari shrugged, "Sure, I gotta find that cloak Gaara gave me as well, who'd have thought he'd be so concerned about me after all this time aye?" she said with a laugh before standing to follow Naruto.

Tsunade smiled after her team before turning back towards the port. For a moment she sat in a peaceful trance, until she noticed something in the air above them.

"Well I'll be damned, looks like Naruto and Temari aren't the only ones with flight techniques..." she mumbled with a smirk before turning to move back inside.

##########

"Ah there you are Miss Fujikaze."

Yuki raised her head from the bar it was resting on, allowing her to glare at the two Chunnin standing b her side, "Whaddya want kids?" she slurred with a scowl, "I ain't going to the Land of Snow, deal with it."

Sasuke watched her silently from behind his shades before shrugging, "That's irrelevant to my job lady." he said before hopping up onto the stool next to her.

Yuki blinked rapidly at Sasuke as the boy calmly began to roll a joint, "You… you're not going to force me back?"

Sasuke sighed, "I will if I have to, but by the look of things I won't need to. Besides, nothing wrong with having a break for a drink or..." his gaze travelled along the numerous empty bottle in front of him, "...ten."

Yuki pouted as she leaned closer to Sasuke to try and see his eyes through the darkened lenses, "I'm the world famous Yuki Fujikaze brat! don't patronise me about my drinking problem!"

Sasuke sparked up his smoke, "I never said you had a drinking problem."

Yuki gritted her teeth angrily and lifted her drink as if to hit Sasuke with it, only for Hinata to grip her wrist and stop her.

"Umm, Sasuke-kun," Hinata said softly as she glanced at someone in the corner of the bar, "I think those guys in the corner are coming this way."

Yuki sighed, "So what?" she asked as she put er drink down and went to get another, only to see her small purse was now safely in Hinata's grip.

Sasuke sighed.

"Well well, it really is you! Miss Fujikaze, the hot topic of the year," one of the brutes Hinata had noticed approaching said as he sat at the stool on her other side opposite Sasuke, "How is it that a famous beauty like you ended up in a little tavern like this?"

"None of your business," she said drunkenly before turning back to Hinata and Sasuke, "Let's go…" she said, feeling uncomfortable about having the two kids near a potentially dangerous brute.

"Now hold on there," the man said as he gripped Yuki's forearm, "You'll be coming with me for tonight girl," he said before turning to grin at the three other men at the table who had stood and began to make their way over, "But I'm sure after I return you to your movie set I'll be getting a big reward."

"Ah!" Yuki shouted as the man's grip on her wrist tightened painfully.

Hinata poked the man's elbow gently, though with her Gentle Fist following the strike, his elbow snapped loudly and painfully in the wrong direction, "We're up Sasuke-kun."

Sasuke sighed, letting out a cloud of smoke that began to swirl towards his right hand, "Yep." he mumbled before looking towards the ceiling and spitting the joint from his lips.

The three men – who had paused as they saw their leader be taken down with literally a poke – looked up in unison as their gaze followed the joint through the air.

Sasuke cartwheeled behind Yuki over the bar, kicking one of the empty bottles into the furthest man's face before grabbing the one closest to him and slamming his face on the bar upon landing on his feet.

Hinata palm-thrust the remaining man before grabbing the broken elbow of her first victim, throwing him onto the floor and standing on his back to keep him down.

Yuki barely managed to see the blurs that the two Chunnin had become as they took action, only managing to look up in time as Sasuke reached over her head and caught his joint before it could land on her face, "Miss Yuki, we should go." Hinata said as she pulled the woman off the stool.

Yuki was staring in surprise, not being able to comprehend what had just happened at such a high speed. By the time she was actually listening to Sasuke and Hinata, they had already pulled her out of the bar, "Wait a damn minute!"

"No thank you."

Yuki stumbled as Hinata pushed her forward lightly, causing her to look up in surprise as Kakashi lifted his headband and stared into her eyes.

##########

Nearly ten hours later, Yuki groaned as she sat up in her bed, 'Where am I?' she thought before a loud squawk at her windowsill.

For a moment share stared at the seagull in surprise until it flew away, causing her to notice the vast ocean behind it….

"SANDAYUUUU!"

##########

Sandayu began to sweat heavily as Yuki's voice echoed throughout the small ship they had rented since the other ship had left without them, "I'm beginning to think this was a bad idea Kakashi-san..."

Kakashi shrugged, "If you want her protected, you should know that this is the best way. Any person looking to target her will attack the other ship and find a film crew being protected by two Jungle Tigers and a pack of my strongest canine. Not to mention Sasuke's Displacement Technique would allow up to two of us to swap places with his tigers in a real emergency."

Sasuke opened the door to the ships's interior and looked over at the two of them, "She's up, and she's pissed." he said before closing the door.

Sandayu sighed, "Well… it's not like she can run away again right?" he said jokingly, trying to find a positive view of the situation.

Kakashi eye smiled, "Of course, but then again, neither can you."

**BAM**

"Sandayu?! What the hell is the meaning of this?!" Yuki exclaimed angrily as she stormed towards the two men.

Sandayu laughed nervously, "W-well princess, I thought once we were on that way that you-"

**POW**

"Ahhhhh!"

Kakashi sighed as Yuki's punch threw Sandayu off of the ship and into the water, "Hinata, man overboard."

Hinata ran out onto the deck, using her Rubber Extension technique to pull Sandayu back towards them, "Have a good rest Yuki-san?" she said with a polite bow to the woman who stormed back inside and slammed the door behind her.

"I hate all of you!"

###########

Tsunade smiled excitedly as she stepped away from the food stall, "Dig in guys! These are delicacies from the locals!" she said as she held out four paper bags towards her team.

Naruto and the girls took a bag each and began to eat the snack-on-a-stick given out to them, Temari letting out a groan of satisfaction at the new taste, "This is amazing!"

Tsunade chuckled before taking her own bag from the stall owner, "Damn right! Now let's get going to the palace and see just what Snow has to offer the Leaf."

Naruto cleared his throat after swallowing his mouthful, "Looks like we got company Kaa-san." he said calmly before taking another bite.

Tsunade sighed, 'Dammit...' she thought as she spotted the contingent of three walking towards them, "Temari, get behind me. Ino, Tenten, with Naruto. Face them down."

"We gotta what?" Ino asked.

Temari breathed in surprise as Tsunade pushed her out of sight, "Quiet for now." she ordered.

"Tsunade Senju! The Slug Sannin herself!" a slender man wearing a long white robe that covered him from the neck down said as he approached the group of five, "My name is Nadare Ryouga and I have been asked by the Great Lord Dotou Kazehana – Leader of the Land of Snow – to show you and your troupe directly to the castle where he dwells for free accommodation for as long as you need!" the man said dramatically before leaning forward in a small bow.

Tsunade raised a brow before smirking, 'Well, I guess is going to be a little different then I thought.' she thought as she stepped forward and offered Nadare a hand, "Good to meet you Nadare-san, and I'd like to meet this Lord Dotou. Don't ask my students any questions unless you've run it by me first and lead the way."

Nadare blinked at Tsunade's harsh tone, "W-well, yes ma'am." Nadare said in surprise.

"Naruto, lead the girls from ten meters back, tell me if these Snow Ninjas begin to prod anyone, girls, follow Naruto's lead." Tsunade said to Naruto.

Naruto smirked and nodded, "Got it Kaa-san, standard protocol." he said before watching Tsunade walk ahead with the Snow Ninjas.

"Okaaay," Tenten said once they had been left behind with Naruto, "What's the deal? Why does it seem like you and Tsunade-Sensei are hiding something?"

Naruto shook his head, "Not hiding anything Tenten, just being cautious. Kaa-san just taught me some protocol over the years for meeting people like this."

"What do you mean by 'people like this'?" Ino asked with a frown.

Naruto laughed before looking at Temari, "You know what I mean right?"

Temari nodded, "People whose position of power have clearly gone to their heads. This Dotou guy just sent what may have been his strongest trio of Shinobi to not only show that he has power, but to try and put them in our face like that… he's trying to intimidate Tsunade-sama isn't he." Temari said with a scowl.

Naruto nodded with a smirk, "Yep, and now Kaa-san has given them a reason to specifically avoid us. If they get close, she can show her power. If they don't, we can get all the information on the place we can find without them knowing anything."

Ino hummed, "So… should we be doing anything specific?" She asked as Naruto began to lead the girls after Tsunade.

Naruto turned to look at Temari, "If anyone asks, you're not the Daughter of the Desert."

Tenten cleared her throat, "Daughter of the Desert? what's that?"

Temari sighed, "It's a silly nickname which kinda caught on after my first Bingo Book registration." Temari said with a shrug.

"And Ino," Naruto spoke up again, "Don't mention that you're a Yamanaka Clan Heir. We're gonna play it like we're just nervous kids following the leader. If asked questions, we play dumb and bring up Kaa-san's words. Also let's not call her Sensei for now, the weaker we seem the less they'll expect from us."

"Got it Naruto-kun." Ino said with a sigh.

Naruto's brow twitched at Ino's casual use of of the 'kun' suffix, "Follow my lead."

Temari and Tenten looked at each other with a raised brow before looking at the two blondes ahead of them, "He just keeps surprising me, and what's up with her?" Tenten asked quietly.

Temari shrugged, "Maybe she's read something in his mind that's awkward for her?" Temari guessed.

Tenten blushed, "Hold on, she can read people's minds?"

"I thought that's how it works with Yamanakas?" Temari asked.

"Guys! Come on!" Ino shouted back to the duo.

##########

**HOOONK**

Kakashi and Sasuke ran up to the deck at the sound, ready for a fight only to see Yuki's crew were getting her ready for a scene, "What's going on?" Sasuke asked.

Hinata jogged up to them, "Sensei! The Director has docked on an iceberg up ahead and radioed back to us that they'll be doing a scene there when we catch up."

Kakashi sighed, "Right… how long til land?" he asked as he looked over to the eight staff members fixing Miss Yuki's make-up and outfit.

"About two hours Sensei," Hinata said with a soft smile, "What's the plan while we're there?"

Kakashi hummed in thought, "When we get close… I want you to sweep the berg with your Byakugan before focussing purely on the staff and crew members for their own safety. Sasuke, you'll be with me ensuring a safe perimeter, got it?"

"Hai Sensei." Sasuke said with a relaxed yawn.

##########

Hiruzen sat with a calm smile on his face as his assistant placed an opened scroll in front of him, "Thank you Shizune, could you please get the door?"

Shizune blinked at Hiruzen, "The door?"

**Knock Knock Knock**

Hiruzen smiled at Shizune's surprised expression, "When you're here as long as I have been, you start to get a knack for these things." he said with a chuckle as Shizune rushed to do as he said.

"Hiashi-san is here to see you." Shizune announced before opening the door completely.

Hiruzen's face showed no discernible difference at Hiashi's entry, though if one was as skilled as him in the art of deception, they may have noticed the glint in his eyes that promised something unknown, "Hiashi-kun, how can I help you today?"

Hiashi kept his face emotionless as he loomed over Hiruzen's desk, "Hiruzen, I must say-"

"It's Hokage-sama Hiashi-kun," Hiruzen said with a kind smile, "Show the necessary respect for me until I retire. I'd hate for your actions to be reflected in mine."

Hiashi was quiet as his brow tensed almost imperceptibly, "Right… I would like to inform you of an illegal action Hatake Kakashi has taken against me and others of this village."

Hiruzen raised a brow, "Now this is interesting, Shizune-chan, please get some tea for Hiashi-kun and myself. Also please get the registered black contracts of the village, I feel as though they might come in handy."

Hiashi's jaw clenched until Shizune left the room, "...You know of the black contract between Kakashi and myself?"

Hiruzen chuckled, "Doesn't everyone? I assigned Kakashi the mission of finding a way to teach Hinata something unexpected for the tournament. He achieved the mission presented to him and was rewarded once he gave me the mission report."

Hiashi cleared his throat, "...Mission report?"

Hiruzen smiled softly as Shizune came back into the room with a tea tray, having two men follow in after her from records to leave the reports he wanted. Once the record keepers left, Shizune began to pour their drinks.

Hiruzen nodded in thanks to Shizune before looking at the pile next to him, "Let's see, it was only a month ago, so it should be in the first five. Hiashi, if you don't mind?"

Hiashi kept his glare aimed at Hiruzen as he sat down and took the top five from the pile, his glare faltering as he noticed the name on the first one, "You've made a contract with Shikaku Naara?"

Hiruzen nodded with a hum, "Technically he made it with me since he's the one that approached but yes, I gave him what he asked with the condition of a black contract in return. But that's not important, was Kakashi's the next one?"

Hiashi's jaw clenched as he shuffled the remaining four record folders in front of him, "You have a contract for… Ibiki Morino, Dosu Kinuta, Kakashi Hatake and… Kazekage Rasa?" Hiashi asked in surprise.

Hiruzen hummed again, "Ah yes, Ibiki needed a favour his long lost brother, Dosu wanted freedom from the Hidden Sound Village so we gave him a place here, Kakashi I believe is whom you're here to talk about?"

Hiashi nodded, but his focus was on the name Hiruzen left out, "And… Rasa? How do you even have this?"

Hiruzen took a sip of tea – with Shizune's help – before sighing in relaxation, "You see, in Orochimaru's rushed exit, he failed to realise the Seals for the technique he used to revive the late Fourth Kazekage was still in effect. He's unable to move currently, but as we try to help him he's been giving us very important information about certain people."

Hiashi sighed before taking a seat and taking out Kakashi's Mission Report, "May I?"

Hiruzen nodded, "Help yourself, after all you ended up being the resulting target for the mission, it's only fair."

Hiashi opened the folder, his practised speech stopping before he could even start as he saw the names of the other people that Kakashi had signed contracts with that actually had the Hokage's approval.

Hiruzen smirked, at Hiashi's reaction, "Shizune, if you could get an omitted copy for Hiashi to take home it'd be much appreciated."

Shizune put down Hiruzen's tea and stood with a bow, "Hai Hokage-sama. It'll be ready in a few minutes."

Hiashi turned away from the reports and kept his gaze on the wall, ignoring Shizune until she picked up the reports and left the room. Once the door closed, Hiashi openly glared at Hiruzen, "How long have you been building this… Black Battalion of yours?"

Hiruzen smirked, "Black Battalion? You make it seem like some kind of secret army."

Hiashi scowled, "You have a group of men who're ready to do any mission no questions asked Hiruzen. You could handle any inside force… do you think of me as that much of a threat?"

Hiruzen raised a brow, "You? My dear Hiashi-kun, you think yourself so important that you can't see the big picture, a game in which you are merely pawn for the enemy."

Hiashi was shocked at Hiruzen's words, "How dare you?! I am no pawn!"

"Then tell me the truth," Hiruzen interjected, "Do you or do you not still pay for information from Danzo's ROOT?"

Hiashi was silent for a moment before he began to slowly shake his head, "I… the Hyuuga Clan funds many groups within the village, though I was sure ROOT had been disbanded."

Hiruzen openly chuckled, "My boy, take your leave. If you honestly don't even know that ROOT is not only active – but they have a hand in every illegal act the village comes aware of – then I don't understand why your are here bringing up my black contracts. If Kakashi and Hinata take their time wandering around your Clan's compound then I assure you," Hiruzen said as he leaned forward and looked Hiashi dead in the eye, "I am moving pieces of my own into place for this game. No more, no less."

Hiashi shook his head, "So Kakashi… his threat had nothing to do with me."

"Only that the threat was witnessed, and you felt emotional enough about it to approach me personally." Hiruzen said with a soft smile.

Hiashi nodded, though he stayed silent in contemplation.

"May I request something Hiashi-kun?" Hiruzen said after a moment of allowing Hiashi some private thought.

Hiashi merely nodded again, electing to stay silent.

"Your nephew Neji. He used to be a part of the Branch family that stood against your decision of casting out Hinata, yet come the past exams, he showed her open hostility. I would like to know if this was your doing."

Hiashi looked up at Hiruzen, feeling humbled as their previous conversation showed him the truth concerning Kakashi's visit the month prior, "It was not. The Hyuuga Elders told him that if was to restore our clan's honour and kill Hinata, that he would be given a role in the main family. I was unaware of this deal but… I didn't think he had abandoned his belief in the clan."

Hiruzen hummed, "Then I ask that you talk to him. Gai has informed me that Neji has grown very cold towards everyone and he sees no way to bring the boy out of the darkness… maybe showing him that he still has family to believe in would be enough?" Hiruzen suggested.

Hiashi nodded, "Yes… I think you're right. I also would like… assistance, in certain… security areas." he said hesitantly.

Hiruzen nodded in return as he relaxed back in his chair, taking the appearance of a simple old man once more, "You're asking for my help in handling Danzo? My dear boy, once again you missed my move."

##########

"Lord Dotou!" a flag-wielding man announced with a wave as the doors ahead of him were opened, "May I present, Lady Tsunade of Konoha!"

Tsunade walked into Dotou's throne room with a polite smile on her face, her eyes analysing Lord Dotou as he sat atop his large slate throne. The man stood as she came to a stop at the foot of the stairs leading up to him, "Welcome, Lady Tsunade. I am the leader of the Land of Snow and I welcome you to my humble abode."

Tsunade smiled, "Humble? Was it the twelve watchtowers or the small army that made you think 'humble'?" she said jokingly.

Dotou laughed so loud that his voice echoed throughout the chamber, "Well I guess humble isn't the right word. Forgive me, I am somewhat new to the concept of foreign meetings, in fact other then the Land of Rice, these lands have never been visited by a diplomat, let alone someone of your legendary status." he said as he stood and began to descend down the steps.

Tsunade giggled, purposefully trying to appear as though his words flattered her, "Legendary status? You make me sound like some sort of princess."

"Or a Queen in the making." Dotou said as he came to a stop in front of Tsunade, leering down at her with a confident smirk.

Tsunade's jaw clenched unnoticed by Dotou, "A Queen? I wish," she said before making it obvious that she was looking Dotou up and down. She smiled at him when their gazes met before she looked away in false embarrassment, "So… why don't you show me around?"

Dotou nodded, "Milady, I'd love nothing more then to do so."

##########

"Why do I have to watch these brats?" a burly man said into his earpiece as he adjusted a snow board across his back.

"_Because even though they don't look like they're hiding the Princess they might have information! Now Nadare-sama has intelligence that suggests two other ships have met up just outside our ocean borders. I'm going to go check on it and see if I can confirm the sighting. Just stay on them and Nadare-sama and I will handle the rest, got it Mizore?" _

Mizore sighed as the radio went silent, meaning that even without his answer, she had shut off the communication, "Damn woman..." he mumbled before going back to spying.

From Mizore's place atop the watchtower, he had a clear view of Naruto, Tenten, Ino and Temari as the four of them undertook some training of their own…

##########

Naruto maintained a wide stance as he moved his arms through the air, feeling the wind around him and the heat within him and trying to find the point in which they rubbed against one another with a spark…

Naruto's eyes opened as he moved to take his last stance-

**BOOM**

Naruto flew back from the explosion at his fingertips, sending him into a massive pile of snow at the base of the castle's outer wall.

"Naruto!" Tenten shouted in surprise as she ran over to check on the boy.

Temari shivered in the cold before tucking the long yellow cloak she had been given underneath her legs once more, "Those two are idiots, he's going to find it impossible to master this skill so quickly."

Ino smiled at Temari as she lay down in the snow, feeling the cold temperature seep into her body along with a sense of… calm, "Mhmm..." Ino grunted out before sighing in content as she channelled Chakra throughout her body and just let flow between her and the snow.

Temari looked at the other blonde and frowned, "You know, it's weird seeing you this relaxed."

Ino giggled, "Oh well… do you think the others know about that guy spying on us?"

Temari raised a brow before her back stiffened, "Where?"

Ino opened her eyes and looked at Temari before a smile came to her face once more, "I thought it was easy to sense him, but I guess it's just easy for me." She said with another giggle.

Temari sighed in annoyance at Ino before she sat in a meditative position and closed her eyes. She sent her Wind Chakra to her lungs before taking a deep breath and letting the air seep out slowly, the infused breath reaching around her…

"Temari," Naruto said as Tenten helped him sit next to the girl, "Just relax, it's a low level Jonin working for Dotou, he's probably just curious about us." Naruto said.

Temari frowned, "Even after Tsunade-sama's veiled threat? What a jackass." she complained.

Tenten groaned as she stood next to Naruto, "Why don't you and I just train with our weapons for a bit? That way these two get a break from..." she paused as Ino and Temari looked at her from their place having not moved for nearly an hour, "...whatever we're interrupting."

Ino stretched underneath the snow, "Mmk. Have fun."

Naruto groaned as Tenten pulled him to his feet, "Fine, Temari, put your headband away please. The less they realise you're different the less likely they are to piece together who you are."

Temari sighed and did as ordered while Tenten dragged Naruto away for training, "This sucks."

"You could start on the elemental training yourself y'know," Ino said with a content smile, "Step one didn't require anything too difficult for a Wind User like you right?"

Temari hummed in thought as she put her headband in her pouch and took out the scroll she was to train from, "Well… I guess you're right."

##########

Hinata sat with a large smile on her face as she watched the cast and crew getting the footage for their film. To her the entire process was interesting, so even though she was supposed to be analysing for threats, her attention was admittedly on other things…

"Princess Gale! We must find a way to get you back to the Kingdom!"

"No! I am needed to fight! For my people, for my kingdom!" Miss Fujikaze announced in her role as Princess Gale, "And after Yashimaru's sacrifice…."

Hinata's Byakugan flexed as a source of Chakra lit up at the edge of her vision. She immediately stood from her seated position behind the cameraman, causing the director to look at her with a raised brow while Kakashi and Sasuke got the message.

"PRINCESS KOYUKI!"

The cast and crew turned to look at the source of the shout, spotting a man dressed in a long pale onesie and an odd piece of chest armour. In an instant, Kakashi appeared in front of the man with the Body Flicker technique, "Nadare Ryouga, I should've known it'd be you." Kakashi mumbled as he took out a kunai from his leg pouch.

Nadare grinned, "You should leave here Copy Ninja, that woman has been off the radar and untraceable for too long. This is our chance to regain the honour of our kingdom and uncover the treasure of the Land of Snow."

Kakashi sighed, 'Princess Koyuki keeping up her façade by being the actress Miss Fujikaze playing the role of Princess Gale… way to stay low-key Koyuki.' he thought as he glanced over his shoulder at the retreating cast and crew.

Hinata continued to usher the crew back onto the boat, but she couldn't hold back the smirk that came to her face as she saw the Director ensuring that their cameras were still rolling. Though as she saw another spark of Chakra _above _their location, she used her Byakugan to look up, causing her to gasp, "Fujikaze-san!" she exclaimed in worry.

Koyuki looked up in fear as her and the two people with her spotted a female Shinobi diving towards them with a pair of wings attached to her armour.

Using his Hiding in Flames Technique, Sasuke appeared between Koyuki and the enemy in a flash of red hot fire, temporarily blinding all those around him while allowing him to line up his black gauntlet, "BULLET PUNCH!"

The woman in the armour opened her eyes only to have her armour react to Sasuke's Chakra laced punbh, creating a defensive shell around her that his fist slammed into at high speed, pushing the two of them away from Koyuki.

"MAMMOTH ART: RUBBER EXTENSION!"

Koyuki looked back in surprise as Hinata's extended arms grabbed the two people by her sides and pulled them to the ship. In a single bound Hinata was by Koyuki's side as her arms retracted, "Retreat to the vessel Fujikaze-san, I'll protect you."

Hearing no response, Hinata's Byakugan focussed on Koyuki to see the woman was shaking in fear at what was going on around her, causing Hinata to sigh, 'Always the hard way, never easy.' she thought with a pout as she turned and lifted Koyuki over her shoulder.

Sasuke took off his sunglasses as he looked up at his enemy, "So… you're a Snow Ninja?"

The woman smirked as she circled Sasuke in the air, "I'm the ONLY Snow Kunoichi on the Royal Guard! The master of airborne fighting! I'm Fubuki Kakuyoku! Soon to be QUEEN of the Land of Snow!"

Sasuke listened calmly to her words as his now fully unlocked Sharingan analysed all it could about his opponent, especially her wings, 'Chakra reactive 'something' in the wings to like… fly I guess… what's with that armour piece though… man this seems like a lot of effort.' he thought with a sigh before reaching into his Shinobi pouch.

Fubuki paused as she readied herself for whatever Sasuke was about to reveal, only to blink in surprise as Sasuke took out a joint, 'What the hell?'

Sasuke clicked his fingers to spark up before taking an over exaggerated drag, stealthily allowing his empty hand to move past his pants pocket, hooking the pinky finger of his black gauntlet around some Ninja Wire before he looked back up at Fubuki and blinked, "That's cool… so, why are you guys attacking us?" he asked casually.

Fubuki scowled at Sasuke sceptically as she lowered through the air and began to hover in front of him, "We've come for the Princess, Koyuki Kazehana. She's what we need to unlock the treasure left by her father."

Sasuke raised a brow, "Umm… sorry to break it to you but that chick over there is only acting the part of a princess."

Fubuki's scowl became more intense, "No! That's just a cover she's using! Why else would she bring Ninja here other then to take back the land?!" she said in an accusatory tone.

Sasuke sighed, "Really? don't you think that's a bit far fetched? It makes no sense, I mean look at her, she's nothing more then a civilian." Sasuke said as he pointed behind the woman.

Fubuki was angry enough that it didn't even occur to her that the boy standing in front of her could be setting a trap, so as she turned, she didn't realise the threat until Sasuke blurred past her with his Bullet Punch.

Fubuki smirked as Sasuke was blown back, "Idiot, my Chakra Armour protects me from weak ass attacks like that!" she exclaimed as she sent Chakra to the mechanism on her back to fly higher… only to fall to the ground in the process, "What?!"

Sasuke stood with a frown as he took another drag with one hand while the other lifted up his end of the Chakra wires, "Good thing I tied you up when I had the chance then," Sasuke said with a smirked before bringing his wire-wielding hand to his mouth, 'FIRE STYLE: DRAGON FLAME TRAIL!' he thought as he breathed fire onto the wires.

**BOOM**

Sasuke smirked in success as the girl disappeared in the resulting explosion from Sasuke's technique, but the smirk faded as he noticed that his enemy's Chakra hadn't diminished at all.

"ICE STYLE: ICE PRISON JUTSU!"

Sasuke leaped back at the kunoichi's shout, dodging the rising pillars of ice that were getting closer and closer to him upon his retreat.

Fubuki burst from the explosion without a singe on her, causing Sasuke's Sharingan to perceive something that he found interesting, 'Wire made contact, fire didn't… cool.' he thought calmly before leaping up into the air.

Fubuki was surprised at Sasuke's sudden approach, but thanks to her wings she managed to dodge his approach. She span, ready to counter attack only to see Sasuke's red eyes flash.

Sasuke landed and yawned, thinking he had put the woman into his Genjutsu. But as he turned he was instantly put on the retreat once more as Fubuki dove at him while forming more hand seals, 'No Genjutsu either… now _that's_ cool.' he thought with a slight smirk.

Seeing his smirk, Fubuki gritted her teeth in anger before shouting the name of her technique, "ICE STYLE: SWALLOW SNOW STORM!"

Sasuke's eyes copied the technique as he clapped his hands together in a Tiger Seal, "FIRE STYLE: FLAME SPHERE!"

Just as the woman's technique began to form into ice needles with wings, Sasuke blew out a small flame that began to whirl around him and form a dense sphere. Fubuki hovered in mid-air as she watched her attack be foiled, scowling while taking out a pair of kunai.

"FIRE STYLE: TUNNELLING FANG!"

Fubuki's eyes widened as Sasuke burst from the flames in a flaming tornado, she threw her kunai at him only to have them deflected by the whirlwind. In a last ditch effort to stop the attack a bubble of Chakra appeared around her thanks to her Chakra Armour.

Sasuke's attack came to a halt as he bounced off the Chakra bubble, allowing him to stop his rotation and flip through the air over his opponent, 'I see, so it's that armour that's allowing her to do this stuff… she's not that interesting anymore.' he thought with a sigh as he landed with a roll.

Fubuki turned in the air while taking out a special kunai, causing Sasuke to smirk as he noticed the Chakra inside the small blue sphere.

Fubuki threw the kunai, but before the blue sphere attached to it could activate, Sasuke used his Bullet Punch to shoot up into the air at high speed and catch the kunai.

Sasuke spun and threw the kunai back at Fubuki, causing her eyes to widen as she deactivated her wings to dodge the knife.

Sasuke smirked at the revelation from his counter, 'So she still dodges physical attacks. Well I guess that means Taijutsu only.' he thought as he formed a Tiger Seal and flashed away in a swirl of fire.

Fubuki landed in a crouch before looking behind her – seeing her kunai explode in an ice pillar – in the distance, 'This damn kid!' she thought as a bright flash of fire brought he attention to Sasuke a fair distance away.

Sasuke appeared in his secondary burst of flames and knelt, placing his knuckles against the snow, 'It's time…' he thought as he took a deep breath and his Curse Seal pulsed with power.

Fubuki gritted her teeth in anger as her wings activated again, "I'll kill you!" Fubuki shouted as she sent extra Chakra to to her wings and shot at Sasuke low to the ground, causing the snow around her to blow away from her speed.

Sasuke raised his Sharingan to glare at Fubuki, her eyes widening as she saw the marks of the Curse Seal crawl across his face.

Then, he was gone.

"LEAF RISING WIND!" Fubuki looked down just as Sasuke's foot slammed into her jaw.

Fubuki coughed up blood from the impact that flipped her backwards, slamming her back against the snow as her left wing broke.

Sasuke appeared above her in another blur of speed, digging his claws into her other wing as he kicked her right side as hard as he could, ripping the wing off as she rolled away, sliding onto her hands and knees and digging her hands into the snow to come to a stop.

Sasuke shook his hand, allowing the wing to fall from his claws before he glared at Fubuki in the eyes, "This is it." he said with a smirk before he sped at her in a blur.

Fubuki got to her feet, using all that she had to focus her instincts and block his speed slash to her chest.

Sasuke dropped low, sweep kicking the woman before entering a stance he was taught by D'Claw, "JUNGLE STRIKE COMBINATION!" Sasuke exclaimed as he disappeared in another blur.

Fubuki coughed in pain as Sasuke's punch slammed into her sternum, but before she could do anything else Sasuke's claws raked across her back, "Gah!"

Sasuke blurred around her a few more times until his claws dug into the armour piece and ripped it from her uniform. He finished his combo with a double punch to her chest, causing her to cough up blood again as her ribs were fractured and she was thrown across the ice and snow unconscious.

Sasuke stood and took a deep breath as his Curse Seal slowly receded back to halfway only to pulse and try not to fight the suppression.

Sasuke sighed and reached into his pocket, taking out a single storage seal and sending Chakra into it.

**POOF**

Sasuke relit his safely sealed joint as he began to walk back towards the ships that were retreating under Hinata's watch. He took a deep drag and allowed the feeling to sweep over him and seep into him as he walked.

A minute later, Sasuke smirked as the Curse Seal slowly slipped back under his control, 'No worries.' he thought as he went to step onto the water and run to the ships.

""ICE STYLE: HORNED WHALE JUTSU!""

Sasuke looked up at the sun as it's light was blocked by two massive whales of ice that were falling towards each other above the iceberg they were standing on, "...Shit." Sasuke mumbled as he put his shades on to ignore the glare.

##########

Kakashi and Nadare leaped away from one another as Kakashi's Sharingan glared into the eyes of his enemy, 'You failed last time Nadare, don't this'll be any different.' Kakashi thought as he flipped backwards and allowed the two falling Ice Ninjutsu to slam into the berg between them.

Kakashi sped away with a Body Flicker Technique, appearing near Sasuke as the boy leaped away both of them landing on the water as Hinata's extended arms reached out to them. They each took a hand and were pulled through the air back towards the ship. They landed heavily on the ship's deck, rolling into a crouch next to Hinata and raising their heads to see the Director's crew filming them, "Ready to go." Kakashi said with an eye smile.

"Cut!" The director shouted, "Let's move out!"

###########

"Hey, our shadow is leaving." Temari said curiously as she turned to openly look at the Snow Ninja.

Naruto, Ino and Tenten looked over were Temari was looking to see the Snow Ninja leap from the rooftop he had been watching them from and land on a Chakra-powered Snow Board before shooting off across the snow.

"I wonder what's happened..." Tenten mumbled.

Ino closed her eyes as she felt the man's Chakra Signature move into the distance, 'He's… scared? No… worried I think.'

Naruto stood with a stretch, "Well, now might be a good time to go catch up with Kaa-san? Get ready for our next round of training?"

"I'm in!" Tenten shouted with a smirk.

Temari nodded, "Well, if I get started on this airbending stuff I might actually get to make some progress." she said with a shrug.

Naruto, Tenten and Temari turned and began to walk towards Dotou's castle, though Naruto glanced back over his shoulder to see Ino looking in the direction that the Snow Shinobi left in, "Hey Ino?"

Ino snapped out of her trance and looked over as he called her name, "Yeah, coming!" she replied before jogging after the team.

##########

The head of the Kazekage sighed as it looked out the window, his black eyes showing his undead state as the Edo Tensei was held active by the Seals around the room, '… as much as I love being alive, it's not much of a life when you're just a head.' Rasa thought as he looked at the odd setting of the Hidden Leaf Village…

'I miss the Sand.' he thought with another sigh.

**Knock knock**

A small amount of Gold Dust lifted from the floor and picked up his head, floating him over to the bed as he spoke, "Come in."

The door opened slowly, letting in a hunched over Chunnin that turned to the Kazekage with a bow, "Hello sir, I'm Dosu Kinuta."

Rasa smiled, "Ah yes, the boy from the Sound Village," Rasa said before glancing over Dosu's shoulder to see two ANBU escorting Dosu into the room, "Is our temporary apartment ready?"

Dosu nodded, "Yeah, and I got the transport container ready for you too." Dosu said with an eye smile from behind the bandages on his face.

Rasa frowned at the cardboard box Dosu was holding covered in seals, "...Seriously? I have to go in a box?" he asked in disappointment.

Dosu scratched the back of his head sheepishly, "Sorry sir, it's what I was given for our mission."

Rasa sighed once more as his Gold Dust lifted him towards Dosu, "Alright fine, let's go then."

##########

"Well it's good to meet your son and his friends," Dotou said with a smile directed to the four Leaf ninja next to Tsunade, "Please come inside and join me for an early dinner, I have some work to attend to but I'd very much like to hear about your life in Konoha."

Naruto and the girls looked to Tsunade for an answer as the woman nodded, "Sounds lovely Dotou, we'll join you." she answered for them with a smile.

Dotou nodded and began to escort the team down a hallway, but with the sound of a loud bang, the group turned to an open doorway to see Nadare and Mizore pulling in an unconscious Fubuki, "Dotou-sama! We need a doctor!" Mizore shouted.

"Naruto," Tsunade said as she began to approach the trio, "We're up."

Naruto unzipped his vest as he followed after her, "Alright Kaa-san."

##########

_Three hours later_

##########

"All breaks are reduced to minor fractures," Naruto said with a frown, "Lucky she's strong so she'll survive the damage, but she won't be fighting anytime soon."

"Who did this?" Tsunade asked with a frown, "She was obviously attacked here in your homeland otherwise they never would've made it back in time to save her."

Dotou looked up at the two medics as they walked into his throne room, though the man was notably sitting at the base of the throne with his two male compatriots, "Nadare just informed me, apparently they were doing a border-check when they were attacked by an old enemy of this land… the man that stole our previous princess from us."

Tsunade frowned at this information as she began to think over everything going on around her and Naruto, 'Something's not right here… they're keeping something from us.'

"What does this enemy want?" Naruto asked with a frown.

Dotou sighed, "Please… one of my own was injured and honestly… her and I have a relationship that's more then just…

"She's your lover?" Naruto guessed.

Dotou rested his head in his hand, "She's much more."

Naruto nodded, "Kaa-san, we should help them."

Tsunade's frown stayed in place, "Naruto, learn what you can about their resources and formulate a defensive play. Dotou, have one of your men tell Naruto about all the important places on your land and allow him to see a map. He may not look like it but he's one hell of a strategist." she ordered as she stood.

Mizore stood, "And what are the rest of your team's plans?"

"Mizore," Dotou said with a glare, "We will allow him anything he needs. But I want you to keep an eye on Tsunade's team, protect them as if they were your own." Dotou said as his glare faded and became a smirk, "Nadare, help Naruto here get what he needs."

The two men nodded as Nadare turned to Naruto and nodded, "If you'll follow me Naruto-san."

"Lead the way Nadare." Naruto said with a joking grin at his rhyme.

Nadare kept his face in a calm smile, but as he turned his back and began to lead Naruto towards the room's double doors, he smirked darkly, 'Just as Dotou-sama ordered, we'll gain their trust while the latest Chakra Weapon is finished. Then, the real plan begins.'

Dotou smiled to Tsunade, "If you'll come with me, I'd like to show you some things around my palace." Dotou said before turning to leave.

Tsunade nodded and followed after him with a blank expression, 'Something's not right here dammit… I hope Naruto finds something, I need to talk to the girls though.'

##########

"I got nothing, that armour they're wearing makes it impossible for my Chakra to reach them somehow." Ino said as she opened her eyes, having tried to read the minds of those around them.

Tenten sighed, "Bummer, maybe we should see where Tsunade-sama wants us? Something about this situation feels… I dunno,"

"Off." Temari said with a frown, "Like we're being dragged into something."

Ino hummed in thought as she stood from her char in the room they had been given for their stay. The other two girls began to discuss what they had seen so far while Ino formed a series of hand seals, 'YAMANAKA TECHNIQUE: THOUGHT-WAVE!'

##########

Elsewhere in the tower, Tsunade and Naruto jolted as they each felt a presence in their minds.

'Tsunade-sama! Naruto! Where are you guys?!'

Tsunade smirked, 'Naruto is getting some suppies with the help from the locals. Listen up Ino, I have a message for you and the girls.' she thought as she followed after Dotou.

##########

"Here we are," Kakashi said with an eye smile as the ship began to dock down the coast from their intended port, "The Land of Snow."

Hinata smiled as her Byakugan allowed her to take in the view from an impossible perspective, "Beautiful..."

Sasuke took another drag from his joint and smirked, 'Cool,' he thought before turning to look at their clients.

Though Sandayu was excited to be home, Miss Fujikaze – or at least the woman who Sasuke was beginning to suspect was actually Koyuki Kazehana – looked not only worried, but scared out of her mind.

Sasuke used the heel of his palm to push his glasses back up, deciding to keep his thoughts to himself even though Kakashi appeared to be thinking along the same lines.

Sasuke looked up with a raised brow as he thought he felt a push of familiar Chakra, but it faded a moment later.

Sasuke took another drag and relaxed his shoulders as he felt the Curse Seal pulse against his Chakra network, 'No matter, with these Seals Hinata and I can keep up with Kakashi-Sensei. Hopefully we'll be heading home within the next week or so.'

##########

Chapter End.


End file.
